As we get older
by Dirarose
Summary: What if Diane and Carol had been best friends when growing up and so Piper and Alex knew each other from when they were babies? Would they still be a couple?
1. Chapter 1: How I met you mother

_Hi. I am back. I won't be able to post new chapters to this story as I could with the last one, but I promise I am not one to abandon a story and stop updating. So as long as you don't read 'the end' at the end of the chapter you can trust I'll post a new chapter as soon as I can._

_I had to change a few character's a little bit to make this work but I hope you enjoy reading this story._

Chapter 1: How I met your mother

Carol hated that the family had to move. But her father had gotten a new job and that, as her parents told her, he'd earn more and have better work times than before. But that meant for Carol that she had to go to a new school in the middle of the school year. The first term was over and she'd start the second term at her new school. She was anxious of being "the new girl". She wanted the other girls to like her. With the move she had to leave all her friends behind. In this new city she didn't know anyone.

It was the first day of school and Carol stood in front of the school building. Her dad dropped her off the first day and after that she'd have to take the bus.

"You ready, sweetheart?" her dad asked her.

"As ready as I can be, I guess." ten-year-old Carol answered.

"Then let's go and see Principal Dambry, okay?" her father said and walked towards the entry. Carol soon followed.

"Hello, Mr. Peters, you must be Carol!" the principal greeted them when they entered his office.

"Hello Principal Dambry." Carol's father replied and Carol greeted him politely, just how she was raised.

Once everything was settled he showed Carol her classroom and she went in to greet her teacher Mrs. Hallen.

"Hi class. We've got two new girls to our class this term, I hope the other girl will arrive soon. Meet one of our new students, Carol Peters. Would you like to say a few words about yourself, Carol?" Mrs. Hallen introduced her. Carol perked up a little when she heard there would be another girl new this term and she wouldn't be the only one to be new to the class.

"Uhm, thank you. Hello. I'm Carol. My parents and I just moved here as my dad got a new job. I liked the city we lived in, but I think I might like it here to and hope to make new friends soon." she shortly said.

"Thank you, Carol. Why don't you go back to that empty desk there and the other new girl will join you as you desk neighbour."

As Carol sat down the classroom door opened and in came another girl, she had long black hair and was pale. Mrs. Hallen introduced her as Diane and let her say a few words, too. Then Diane took seat next to Carol.

"Hi, I'm Carol." she introduced herself as soon as Diane sat down.

"Diane." the girl answered a little shy.

"Nice to meet you. Don't worry, I'm new too. So you aren't completely alone as new girl." Carol told her as she was relieved herself to not be in the situation of being alone in this situation. She could see Diane's face light up a little.

"That's great. I was scared that it would be totally weird, but not being alone is a relieve actually." the girl replied.

The two girls chatted for a bit and decided to discover the new school and rules and everything together. They both found it was easier this way.

Over the next couple weeks Carol and Diane stuck together and got to know each other. Even though they noticed they were pretty different in their personalities it worked and they got friends.

XXXXX

Two years later when both girls were twelve they were best friends and did everything together. Currently the were at Carol's parent's house sitting on the bed in Carol's room and talked.

"Mary Andrews is such a brat." Diane complained. "And she's everywhere. It's like she's following me."

"Di, you gotta stand above those things. If you show her that what she says annoys you, she'll have her reward and keep on doing it." Carol repeated what she heard her parents say, everytime someone said something mean or offending.

"You wouldn't know. No one ever called you names. You've never been made fun of for not having the money to buy the newest clothes. My parent's just can't afford that." Diane replied sad.

"I'm trying to help you here." Carol said a little angry.

"By telling me what I already know? It's not that easy, Carol!" Diane shot back "I'm sorry, I don't mean to take this out on you. It's just hard hearing them say so mean things." she quickly apologized. She didn't mean to be this mad, but at some point she got tired of the other students calling her stuff that wasn't nice. Once the air was cleared they started to talk about nicer things.

"Did you see Tim Jenkins watch you, though?" Diane asked Carol. "He couldn't keep his eyes from you."

"Eww. He has to stop doing that. Boys are gross. I mean have you seen him?" Carol replied with a disgusted face.

"Yeah, I know. Some people in school say he even has a girlfriend. He shouldn't be looking like that at other girls. Besides, he's way older. I don't get why girls go out with boys anyway. They are just annoying." Diane replied.

Who would have thought, that about two years later their view on that topic had changed immensely and boys now were their favourite topic. How fast things could change…

Their parents were well aware of the bond the two girls had made and decided it would be best for them to continue to go to school together. This wasn't so easy considering the Vauses weren't earning as much as the Peters and latter wanted to send their daughter to a better school, which Diane's parents couldn't afford. The final decision between the families was to send the girls to different schools, but they were lucky enough to find two schools being geographically close so they could see each other often after school and still take the same school bus as there was one that collected students from both schools.

One afternoon, Carol and Diane were fifteen now, they met in the park close to their houses but far enough from them to not run into their parents to talk and hang out.

"Look at that! George Proso over there is totally checking you out." Diane nodded in his direction.

"Oh, he's not!" Carol replied. Diane was a bit annoyed. They both had developed an interest towards the other sex, but seen how Carol was brought up, she was rather - let's say stuck up - about boys interested in her. Because let's be true, she did look good and the family had a good image and was wealthy. So she was a good catch for any boy who liked the waspy lifestyle. Diane looked great, too, but with her sometimes worn out second hand clothes, that she tried to fancy up as much as possible, didn't get the attention from the same kind of guys like Carol. And again it showed how different the girls and their background was. Every now and then it would come up between the two of them and sometimes it caused bad fights but they usually cleared the air and were good and still friends.

Soon both girls had their own boyfriends but still tried to make time to hang out together and do stuff without their boyfriends. Just the two of them. Often enough they were chatting about how their respective boyfriend was and shared most things. Both knew, as they knew each other for so long already, that they could trust each other and tell the other everything. Both girls were happy to have someone they can talk to and who understands what is going on in each other's lives.

When Carol was sixteen her parents told her they'd get a divorce. Carol had noticed that they had been fighting for a while, but she never would have thought they'd get divorced. It came as quite a shock to her that obviously her dad had been seeing other women and of course her mother didn't agree. Especially as both her parents had always insisted on keeping up the image of the family. And a divorce was not good for a good image of the family and neither was a cheating promised herself that she never would let anything like that happen to her. Especially when she saw the judgy faces of the men and women when her mother and Carol arrived without her dad at one of the garden parties. She noticed how people were talking and gossiping. She again promised herself to never give anyone a chance to talk about her like that again.

Diane was right there to talk about it with Carol and Carol often stayed with the Vauses to avoid the drama at home. The girls talked a lot, watched a lot of movies and gossiped about the boys who went to school with them.

When both girls graduated the Vauses planned throw a little party for their daughter. Diane asked if she could celebrate with Carol and so the party got a bit bigger. They celebrated with family and friends in the Peters' garden. Carol and her mother were staying in their house after her father had moved out after the divorce. They both were happy to finally finish high school but both were anxious what the future would bring and how they would be able to keep in contact. Carol already had a place at a really good college but Diane knew that this wasn't in the cards for her as her parents couldn't afford to send her to college. So she decided to stay where they grew up and get a job. She was impatient to move out of her parents house, even though. She would love to live in a bigger city. Her dream and hope was to live in New York City one day.

One year after graduation Carol had finished her first year and Diane worked at a diner in their hometown about to move out of her parents house. She just couldn't stay there any longer. She felt like she missed so much of the experience of growing up and becoming an adult. Staying in her parents house made her feel like the kid and teen she had been growing up there. And with the experience from the diner she thought she could maybe find a job in the Big Apple. They met when Carol went home during summer break and hung out. They had called each other and written texts and seen each other when Carol was home, but due to the distance they hadn't had as much contact as they had during high school and before.

Carol had told her on the phone and in a few letters about her new boyfriend who obviously seemed to be the best she ever had. She was gushing over him, how polite and well mannered and handsome he was. She told Diane that maybe he was the one she'd marry one day. His name was Bill Chapman.

Diane hadn't been so lucky to meet the right guy yet but stayed positive. She had had a few dates but nothing serious. With her colleagues from work she went out when they had time and saw quite a few concerts and whatever was happening in a small town like the one they had grown up in.

When the summer ended Carol went back to college and Diane took the big step to move to New York. They tried to keep in contact, but both women were busy with their life so that the calls and letters got less and less. Diane knew that Carol and Bill had been going strong for a while so she wasn't too surprised to find a wedding invitation in her mail one day. She was happy for her friend and of course made it work to be there for her friend at her wedding.

They had a great party and Carol and Diane were happy to see each other again when it had been hard for them to stay in contact. They promised each other that they'd call or send a letter at least once a month to keep each other updated. And that's what they did. A year after the wedding Diane got a letter from Carol telling her she was pregnant and she and Bill would have a boy. A few months later Carol called her to tell her about her son Danny being born.

Diane was happy for Carol and Bill. Seemed like her friend had settled down and created a family. And that was great. Diane though didn't feel like that yet. She enjoyed living in the city, seeing different bands and enjoying the city life even though she didn't make too much money at the diner she worked at but keeping her standards down she was able to make it work. Four years went by and both women had managed to stay in contact, even if it was through one call or letter per month. Carol asked her friend quite a few times if she didn't want to stay with a man and get married at some point, but Diane told her that she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted at the moment.

Diane had seen a concert of a band, they allowed a few people to meet them backstage and after hanging out couple of times they offered her to travel with them and as she had a thing for the drummer she decided to go with them. She and Lee had a good time and Diane liked being with him and the band. When they were back in New York the band played a few gigs there. Diane had noticed some changes the weeks before and when she was sure about what was going on she went to tell Lee the news. Diane knew the band would leave at some point for more gigs in other cities. She had planned to go with them but when she wanted to ask them when they'd leave she couldn't find anyone anywhere. She checked their rehearsal room, the places the members usually stayed at but everyone was gone. Finally Diane came to the conclusion that they had left. And that Lee had left her.

When Carol coincidentally called the evening that Diane found out that Lee had left and heard the hurt and desperation in her voice she offered her to stay with her and her husband in the smaller city in Connecticut for awhile if she wanted to. Diane was so heartbroken and alone that she happily accepted Carol's offer.

The Chapman's house was big and it reminded Diane a lot of the one Carol had grown up in. But her friend seemed to be happy with her life and family so it helped Diane. Also being away from the city did a lot to calm her down and focus on herself.

One afternoon it was just Carol and Diane in the house and they finally got some time to talk about what happened.

"How are you, Di?" Carol asked. Diane was surprised to hear her teenage nickname her friend gave her again.

"Could be better." she answered vaguely.

"You sounded so down when I called you. Actually I was calling with good news, but you were so hurt, I decided to wait to tell you." Carol started. It got Diane curious.

"Yeah? What are the good news. I think I could use some right now." she faintly smiled.

"Well, I was about to tell you that Danny is going to have a little sibling. We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet. But we're excited." Carol beamed.

"Congratulations." Diane said. Now she had to get it out. "Seems like my baby is going to have someone the same age to play with."

Carol took a few seconds until she got the message. "Wait, you too? How? I mean, I didn't know you had a boyfriend?!" she was confused.

"I mean, I guess you know how?!" Diane chuckled. "But yes. I am pregnant too. I told you I was traveling with that one band?" Carol nodded. "So I was kinda dating the drummer. But when I told him I was having a baby he and the band left without saying something. He left me. So yeah. I got the same news as you, just not sure if they're good news, really." Diane finished.

"I am so sorry, Di." Carol said and hugged her. "If you want you can stay with us for another while. Are you planning to go back to New York, or what do you think?"

"Thank you. I'd like to stay until I found something for myself. And the baby. I think I want to move back here. I mean I got a child to raise, right?" the insecurity was clear in Diane's voice. She wasn't sure what was the right thing to do. She was heartbroken and pregnant. She didn't know what the right thing was.

"You sure you want to do this? All by yourself? A child is so much responsibility and work and then do it all alone. And how are the chances of finding a man when you're raising another man's child?" Carol asked her. "I mean there are ways if you aren't ready for that."

"I know this is not what I planned and not how it was supposed to go. But there is a baby growing inside me. Just as there is in you. And it's not the baby's fault that this fucker Lee decided to leave this poor kid. Sorry for the language. It's not its fault that it is existing. I couldn't do that Carol. So yes. I am going to have that baby." Diane told her. Maybe she didn't know what the future would bring and how she would make it work, but she was determined to be the best mother she could possibly be.


	2. Chapter 2: Two pregnant bellies

_Hey everyone. I am sorry it took me so long to update. I was on holiday and had a lot to do at work. So my idea was that every chapter is one year of the story. The first and second chapter is the prestory until Alex and Piper are born. The third chapter is going to be their first year until they turn one year. I might change this concept if I should notice it doesn't work for me or write more chapters for the content of a year or less depending on my inspiration of what'll happen each year. I've got a rough plan, of how I want it to go but I usually get more good ideas while writing. So I hope you still like the story even if it might take a while until you meet older Piper and Alex, in their teen years and so on. And please review. I always like to know what everyone is thinking, because if noone is reading anymore because noone likes where I am going it would be sad for me. I don't want to write this story just for me. If I was I wouldn't publish it here. So here goes the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it._

Chapter 2: Two pregnant bellies

Diane found a job pretty soon. Carol offered her to stay with them longer but Diane wanted to get her own place at some point and needed to find a job if she wanted to be able to care for her baby. She started to work at a smaller company in town as secretary for the big boss. Diane had to tell them that she was pregnant but assured them to be reliable and could manage work and private life even as a single mother. She thought the interview hadn't gone well but when they called her to say they wanted to give her a chance she was very relieved. The first thing was crossed of the list, now the next thing was to get an apartment.

This proved to be harder than she thought. She was looking for literally anything around the town that she could afford. But either she couldn't afford the rent or the landlord decided against her. Often the reason they gave was because they weren't sure if she could constantly pay the rent. On the application form she had to answer that she was pregnant and most landlords thought with her being a single mother and not working when the baby would arrive they mostly decided against her as tenant.

"I'm sorry, Carol, I really don't want to annoy you guys any longer, but no matter how much I try to convince these people that I am reliable I can't convince any of them to give me a chance." Diane apologized.

"Don't worry. You can stay with us as long as you need. I like having my best friend around and Danny is a big fan of yours. I'm sure he's gonna be sad when you move out." Carol tried to calm her.

"Thank you, Car. I really appreciate that. But I can't stay with you forever. You need your time as a family without me being here all the time. I mean even with me not living here anymore we still see each other often, won't we?" Diane said.

"Yes of course." Carol replied resolutely.

Both women were far enough along in their pregnancy to see a first bump. As they were about the same weeks it was the same size as they noticed after comparing. Even though they were in different settings both women were quite happy about their life and their prospect of their children, who'd be the same age and hopefully could grow up together and always have a playmate. During those times joking and talking with Carol about how it would be with a newborn, as Carol already knew from having Danny, Diane sometimes even forgot everything that was going on and maybe not fully how she had wanted it. She forgot about being a single mom and her problems to find a place.

Carol reassured her when it came up that she could stay as long as she wants and needs but Diane insisted she would find something soon, her argument being that it was stressful with a small kid and a newborn in one house already and that there wasn't the need for two newborns which would be more exhausting for everyone. Sure living together and taking care of the kids together could also make some things a bit easier, but Diane wanted to give Carol, Bill, Danny and the new baby the chance to live their life as a family as they should be without her and her baby around.

Diane knew it'd be hard raising her kid alone, but she was positive that she could do it. She sometimes got the question if it wasn't better for her in her situation to decide against having the baby, but she was vehement that she could do it and was definitely keeping the baby. She explained that it wasn't the baby's fault that she had become pregnant, or that she had chosen that asshole to be the father, or that he took the first chance to run from the responsibility. Feeling her bump she already felt so much love for her baby while she didn't even know if she was going to have a daughter or a son. But even or especially in her situation she knew that she'd love this kid more than anything else in her life and that she'd try to be the best mother anyone could wish for.

One evening when both women were sitting outside on the balcony and talking about their day and what has been happening.

"I'm so tired of feeling sick all the time." Diane complained. "And even when I think about olives I start to feel sick. Why am I so sensitive to smells these days?!"

"Because you're pregnant?!" Carol said jokingly. "But I get it. I feel the same. Even though I got the feeling it's not as bad as the first time."

"Lucky you. You mean with the second it gets easier?" Diane wondered.

"I don't know. For me it's like that. I can't tell for everyone." Carol answered. "I know it is still a while until we can find out, but I was wondering if you want to know if you'll have a girl or boy before the baby is born or rather find out the day he or she is born?"

"I actually haven't thought of that. But I think I'd like to keep it a surprise?! I don't know. Maybe I'll change my mind." Diane said. "What about you?"

"Well, with Danny we knew we'd have a boy. We wanted to know. I'm thinking that maybe this time we'll keep it a surprise." Carol wondered.

"It would be funny though to do a baby shower together. We could do a gender revelation thing. We could ask Dr. Harris that he tells you what I'm having and me what gender your baby is and we could surprise each other." Diane got excited about her idea.

"I do like that idea. But we can still decide that later. We could do that shower like shortly before the due date. I actually like the thought of not knowing yet." Carol replied.

"Okay. Fair. How about a month before the babys are born? Then we still have have time until we'll find out and still a little bit time left until they're born." Diane suggested.

"Great idea." Carol agreed.

The next months passed pretty quickly. The bellies kept growing and they went to most checkups together.

When they were four months along Diane finally found a small apartment that she could afford. It wasn't very big but would be enough for her and the baby and the good thing was that it wasn't too far from the Chapman's home. Now that she had her own place she was relieved but Carol and her still met very often and talked on the phone when they didn't see each other. Carol had stopped working when she was three months pregnant but Diane kept working as long as she could. The other difference between the two women was that Carol wasn't planning to go back to work anytime soon after the birth but instead decided to stay home with her two kids while Diane had agreed with her boss that she could stay home with her baby for two months, then she would take some of her vacation so she came to a total of two and a half month to stay home after the baby was born and then go back to work.

Both women were happy when the checkups didn't show anything not normal but instead showed that both babies were fine, healthy and growing how they were expected to. A week before the baby shower they had a checkup where they asked Dr. Harris to tell them what the babies genders were going to be, but to tell Diane about Carol's baby and vice versa.

They had decided they would reveal the gender by coloured powder filled in white balloons that they were going to pop. The party started and everyone brought small gifts for the babies and everyone was giving their best wishes and what they thought might be a good advice. Everyone was excited to find out if it were boys or girls or both that the two best friends were having. They started with cake that was decorated with blue and pink icing and a big question mark on it and everyone was eating and chatting eagerly. The question that came up the most time was if they had already picked name and if they had a name for both genders ready as they didn't know yet. Both women answered, they'd thought about it and had some preferences but nothing set yet.

When it was time to reveal Carol spoke up to quiet everyone down.

"Hi everyone. Thank you a lot for coming. I think we both are happy to have so many of you celebrating with us today. Thank you also for the presents and good wishes. I think now you're both excited to find out and it's time to reveal the genders." Carol announced.

Carol handed Diane a balloon and Diane did the same.

"Ready?" Carol asked. Diane nodded.

They popped the balloons soon followed by shouts from the group. Carol looked in front of her and saw a lot of pink. She'd have a daughter. She was excited. Secretly she had hoped that it would be a girl as with Danny she already had a son.

Diane looked in front of her too and saw blue. She was happy she'd have a son even though she had hoped for a girl.

"Look at that! You'll have a boy and I a girl. I am so happy!" Carol exclaimed.

The rest of the party was filled with more conversation a few games and many more people asking if now that they knew they had chosen a name. Both answered in the negative. Even if they had they wouldn't give it away just yet.

It was a week later that both women were talking about the coming month and the birth. As far as possible Diane wanted to be there when Carol gave birth and Carol wanted to do the same but they didn't know if it would be possible as both women's due dates were so close together. The doctor had predicted for Diane to give birth on June 9th and for Carol a day after. So now they had three weeks left, both were excited but also anxious for the change.

"Hey, Di." Carol addressed her friend. "You've made a decision on how to name your son?"

"I do have an idea and different names but I haven't decided on one. I think I'll decide when I see him. Who knows if he'll look like a Toby or a Felix or what I feel will be the right name."

"Toby and Felix are on your list?" Carol wondered.

"Possibly. I don't want to give anything away yet. I'll tell you when I've decided. How about you?" Diane asked.

"We did decide on one. It took Bill and me a while to finally agree on something. I always liked the name Bridget. But Bill is not a fan of it. So, we found something that we both liked. But as you're not telling me I won't say anything either."

A week later Diane was alone at home reading her book. She thought how in about two weeks everything would change and she would hold her baby in her arms. She stroked her big belly lovingly when she felt an awkward ache which she played down as a short unwell feeling for now. It was May 24th, her baby wasn't supposed to be born before June 9th. The doctor had said as it was her first child it would rather be later than earlier for her to go into labour. Which is why she half expected to give birth the same time Carol would. But when the pain returned a bit heavier about an hour and a half later she was wondering. The same thing happened again and she decided to go and see her doctor.

When she got there the doctor confirmed the she indeed had gone into labour already. He said that things like that happen sometimes and that she slowly but surely should make her way to the hospital. As the single contractions were still over an hour apart she didn't need to hurry but she should get ready to give birth soon. Diane was a bit shocked that it happened sooner than she thought but tried to stay as calm as possible because stressing now wouldn't help her right now. So she went back home packed a few things and called Carol who was really surprised but told her she would be there as soon as she could.

When she arrived at the hospital the contractions already had come in shorter periods. She was brought to the maternity ward of the hospital and doctors came to check up on her. Soon Carol arrived too.

"Hey, you. What are you doing? You still got two weeks!" Carol said as she walked into the room.

"Tell that to this little speedy in my belly!" Diane replied. "Someone is keen to see the outside world. Couldn't wait another two weeks." She chuckled but was interrupted by another contraction. Carol went over trying to help her friend.

"I would love to tell that the pain gets less from now, but that would be a lie. But I am here to help you through it. And I won't leave until that little bean of yours is in your arms. I know you'll curse and for a short time think you were insane when deciding to have that baby but I can promise you that won't take long, cause as soon as you'll see him he'll be the thing you love the most and you won't ever regret making the decision to be his mom." Carol told her friend. Diane was relieved and it calmed her a little to have her friend with her. Carol could tell her how things went as she already went through all this once. And seeing how happy Carol was after the birth of her son Diane was looking forward to the moment this excruciating pain would be over and she could hold her little boy in her arms.

Soon it "really started" and Diane cursed Lee another time for doing this to her, for herself to make the decision to have this child and then Lee again for making her go through this alone. Then she remembered that Carol was there and she wasn't alone. Still she cursed Lee and wished him to hell.

Then it was over. She heard the first cries of the baby and forgot the pain she just had gone through.

"Here you are. Your perfect little baby." one of the nurses said a while later while handing her her baby.

"Oh my god. Aren't you the cutest little thing. Hello my dear. I'm your mommy and I love you so much already." Diane said as the tears were running down her face.

"Do you have a name for her already?" the nurse asked.

"Yes. I had a few – wait, her?" Diane asked a little startled.

"Yes. Congratulations. You've got a perfectly healthy and I might say very adorable baby girl." the nurse said. "Oh. You wanted it to be a surprise and find out now."

"No. Actually, I did know. But the doctor said I'd have a boy." Diane said still a bit surprised but also happy because ever since she found out she was pregnant she hoped for it to be a girl. She wasn't less happy when she found out she'd have a boy but now she got surprised again.

"Oh, I'm sorry. But yeah, that happens sometimes. I'll bring you two to your room for now and you'll have a bit of time to think how you want to call her. Then we can issue the birth certificate." the nurse said.

"No. I know how I want to name her." Diane quickly replied. "I already had the name on my list when I thought I'd have a boy but I think it works perfectly fine for a girl too. With a few slight changes." she chuckled. "Alex Pearl Vause. That's going to be her name."

The nurse smiled at her. "That's a nice one. You sure you don't want to go for Alexandra? Or Alexa?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." Diane replied. She didn't notice much around her, she only had eyes for the little girl in her arms.

A few minutes later Carol came in. The doctors had sent her to wait in the visitation area as they insisted that only family was allowed in the delivery room. But Alex was the only family that Diane had now. Her parents hadn't spoken a word with her when she ran away with Lee. Shortly after she found out she was pregnant she had tried to contact them but they made perfectly clear that they didn't want to have contact with her.

"And how is he? What is his name? How are you? Can I see him?" Carol bombarded her with questions.

"Yes. You can. And surprise surprise. Dr. Harris was wrong. She is the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. And her name is Alex Pearl Vause. And I am fine. More than that. I mean look at her. She is perfect. I'm so proud. How can a fuck up like me make something so perfect?" Diane said still not able to detach her eyes from her daughter.

Carol smiled. She had felt very similar when Danny was born and couldn't wait to fell like that in two weeks if her baby kept to the schedule.

"It's a girl?" she asked surprised though.

"Yes. I am surprised too. But I am so happy. I secretly hoped it would be. Not that I would have been less happy if it was a boy. But I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am right now." Diane said. She still was very emotional. Exhausted too, but the happiness and love for her daughter were dominant.

Three days later she and Alex could go home. The nurses and doctors had explained how the first time would go and now it was up to Diane to find her own rhythm and way to take care of her little girl. The first weeks at home were overwhelming but Carol visited often and helped her a lot knowing that the first time you have to learn how to take care of a baby can be stressful and exhausting. But for Diane it were also weeks of bliss, happiness coupled with a big lack of decent sleep but she wouldn't change a thing.

Two weeks after Alex was born she got a call from Carol that they had gone to the hospital as Carol went into labour. It was the morning of June 7th and still three days before the original date but closer to it than Diane had been. Diane hurried to pack everything, get Alex ready to leave the house and leave her apartment to be there for her friend just as she was for her. When she arrived at the hospital she was told that Carol and Bill were already in the delivery room and Diane was asked to wait in the visitor's area. Some nurses recognized her and asked how she had been and she told them that it was stressful but she couldn't be happier.

About an hour later she was told that she could go and visit Carol and her daughter now. So she got up and walked with Alex in her carrier towards Carols room.

"Hey, you three." Diane greeted Carol and Bill and got a small view on the little baby girl in Carols arms.

"Hi Diane. And Alex. Meet Piper Elizabeth Chapman. Our beautiful daughter." Carol replied.

"Hi Piper. Welcome to the outside world. I hope you and Alex will get along well. You surely will see each other often." Diane said looking at Piper. She could see the clear blue eyes she must have gotten from her mother. Alex's eyes had taken a green colour. Alex made a giggling noise and seemed to look at the new baby. Surprised by the noise Piper looked toward Alex and green eyes met Piper's blue ones for the first time.


	3. Chapter 3: Twins

Chapter 3: Twins

The first weeks alone at home with the babies were hard for Diane and Carol but also filled with so much love and excitement that they soon forgot how many hours of sleep they had missed the night before.

Carol and Diane saw each other as often as they managed and talked about what was happening. Danny had been the sweetest big brother he could be. He always came and asked Carol if he could help or if Piper needed anything. Carol was happy that he wasn't upset about not being the only one to have her attention. Before Piper was born they had talked to him about it, trying to get him to understand what it meant to be a big brother and that there soon would be a small baby there and it didn't mean they loved him less when the parents were busy taking care of his sister who just needed more care and attention during her first weeks and months on this planet. Carol and Bill had thought that maybe it'd be hard for him but Danny was so cool about it and acted like he was a big kid already with his nearly five years.

Both women were fascinated with the fact how fast the girls grew bigger and discovered their surroundings. Unfortunately soon Diane's break from work was over and she had to go back to work. It was so hard for her leaving Alex for the time she had to work. Carol offered her, as she was at home with her baby anyway to take care of Alex along with Piper. Jokingly she said it would be as if she had twins only that she could give one back after a while, a fact she was happy about because for longer it meant so much more work considering she also had a four year old to take care of. Diane was very grateful for her friends help, she had no idea how she could have done it to work and somehow take care of Alex without Carol offering to take her as long as she was working.

When they were close to four months Diane and Carol decided to take the girls to a baby swim course where they discovered that Alex as well as Piper loved water. They could see how happy they were while splashing the water. One time Alex threw both her hands flat on the water causing quite a big splash and Piper got surprised by the sudden hit of water in her face and was startled for a second, but soon she recovered, giggled and did the same. Carol and Diane loved seeing their daughters having so much fun. It was a weekly course and the women enjoyed the fun time with their girls but also talking about their everyday.

One evening they were at Carol's house sitting in the living room talking and watching a movie. The girls were lying on a playmat next to each other and both awake. They were lying there piecefully, chortling every now and then. Alex was busy discovering her foot while Piper looked into the air as if to try to find out what was going on. Carol and Diane were invested in their talk but heard Piper getting upset and not yet crying but close to do so. When Carol checked what upset Piper she couldn't find anything. She had her pacifier in her mouth still, she had been feeding her just recently so she couldn't be hungry and her diaper smelled just fine, so she didn't need to change that either. She figured it was something small as Piper calmed down a little as she took her from the mat. As soon as she put her back down though she started to stir again. Alex had turned to her side to face Piper before all that happened and looked at her curiously. She didn't have her pacifier anymore, it was lying next to her, but it seemed as if she didn't mind. Piper would have screamed as soon as she lost it. To test, Carol gave Alex her pacifier back. As soon as it was back in her mouth Piper calmed down and went back to her happy, giddy place from before.

"Did you find out why Piper was upset?" Diane asked returning from the toilet. She had followed the whole routine from pacifier to diaper check on the way to the toilet.

"Yeah. Obviously she was upset because Alex had lost her pacifier. Piper can't go without it. She is completely upset when she looses hers but Alex didn't mind about not having it. But obviously Piper didn't like that Alex had lost it." Carol said amused.

"Oh wow. Look at you Piper. Looking out for your friend already. How nice." Diane said to Piper and laughed.

Soon both girls fell asleep and Diane and Carol kept talking.

"Have you heard anything from Lee at all?" Carol asked Diane.

"No. I haven't spoken to him since I told him I was pregnant and I honestly don't see that changing any time soon. I'm not sure if I even want that to change. I mean, yes, Alex deserves to know who her father is, but I also don't want her to have anything to do with that asshole." Diane replied.

"You regret that he's the father, don't you?" Carol went on.

"Yes, and no. I don't regret having Alex. I mean look at her. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"That's your motherly hormones speaking, they make you love her. But how can you not love something so cute and small and innocent." Carol interrupted her laughingly.

"As if you don't feel the same!" Diane replied in mocked hurt. "Anyway. I love her and don't regret having her for one second. But I really wish it wasn't that asshole to be her father. She deserves someone better. Someone who is there for her. Who is her dad and takes care of her." Diane said, feeling a lump build in her throat. Her eyes filled with water. "But instead I had to choose this loser to hang out with and got myself pregnant."

"Hey. I know it's hard. But you can't change it now can you?" Carol said trying to calm her friend.

"No. I know that but still I want Alex to have a normal family and I'm not sure if that's going to happen." Diane said.

"I know. But you can't change people and do you think you'd be happy living here with Lee?" Carol wanted to know.

"If I'm honest, I don't think so. Being with the band and Lee was exciting when they were travelling and I'd probably be thinking of him as less of an ass if he hadn't abandoned Alex. But I'm not sure if I'd be happy with him. But still I feel bad for her not having her father around." Diane explained.

"I get that. It's completely okay to feel like this. But maybe you can find someone who will be a good stepdad?" Carol suggested.

"When am I supposed to do this? I don't really have time to go on dates. My life currently consists of work, being with Alex or sleep. And I don't want to cut any of this shorter. I already miss enough time with Alex when I'm working. And I want to use the time that I've got to be a good mother to her. Besides, who would date a single mother and know they'll always be on spot two of my list of priorities, because I'm raising another man's child?" Diane said.

"But to be a good mother you also have to be happy yourself. It's not good for you or Alex if you're not happy. And you are a great woman. Anyone who would get to date you would be lucky. And if they can't oversee the fact that you've got a daughter they're not worth your time." Carol explained.

"Thank you for saying that. And I am happy with my life. Maybe someday I'll go look for a man but at the moment I'm content with how things are. I want to have as much time for my baby as possible." Diane told her. "Besides I don't want just anyone. Alex deserves to have someone good to be her possible stepdad. So I'll need to find someone good."

"Okay. Whenever you're ready. And you know me and Bill will always be here for you. If you need a babysitter or someone to talk to you can always come to us." Carol offered.

"I know I can count on you. Thank you. I am so grateful for what you do for me already. I actually don't know what I'd do without you, Carol." Diane needed to let her know.

"Oh it's nothing." Carol replied with feigned modesty. "I'm sure you'd do the same if the tables were turned around."

"Damn sure I would." Diane gave back and laughed.

They kept talking until they nearly fell asleep on the couch. Carol offered Diane to stay over in the guestroom so she didn't have to go home with a sleeping Alex in the middle of the night. Diane took the offer happily and picked Alex up from where she was sleeping on the play mat and went to bed.

The next weeks flew by quickly. The developed a routine that worked well for everyone. Diane would drop off Alex before work and pick her up after and keep Carol updated about her shift plan so that she could prepare for Diane bringing Alex. Diane made Carol promise to tell her as soon as possible if she couldn't do it anymore or there was a problem. She appreciated a lot what her friend did for her by taking care of her baby but she didn't want Carol to be stressed or feel like she couldn't be there for Piper as much as she wanted to because she was taking care of her kid too.

It was a normal day and Diane had a normal evening shift. Alex and Piper were about six months old and everything was going how they planned to. Diane was still working at the diner she started at months before Alex's birth.

"Diane?" her boss called her when she arrived for her shift.

"Yes, Mr. Sensman?" Diane replied and walked toward him.

"I wanted to thank you for your work over the last year. If you didn't forget today a year ago you started here and to be honest I first wasn't sure if I made the right decision by hiring you when you told us in your interview that you were pregnant. But I haven't regretted that decision so far and am happy to have you here. Over the last year you've proven that I can count on you and are a reliable employee more than other waiters here who don't have to deal with work and being a single mother at the same time. So, as I am proud to have you here and thank you for everything I decided to give you a couple days off. I talked to the rest of the staff and they'll be covering your shift for the rest of the week. So you've got off until next Monday." Mr. Sensman told her.

Diane was speechless. She hadn't noticed it had already been a year. "Uh, thank you. It's only Monday! That's four whole days!"

"I know." her boss laughed at her disbelief.

"Oh my. Thank you so much Mr. Sensman!" Diane gave him the widest smile. Nearly a whole week off! A whole week she could spend completely with her daughter.

"I would have liked to give you today off too but I couldn't find anyone to cover for you today so you'll have to work today." he replied sincerely feeling sorry.

"That's totally fine. You already made me so happy today, I can't believe I'll have the rest of the week off. Thank you so so much, boss." Diane replied feeling excited at the thought of going home today after her shift and having Alex with her until next monday. Most of her shift she was working with a smile on her face infecting everyone with her happiness and good mood.

Two hours before her shift was over she went over to a table where two new customers had just sat down.

"Hi, I'm Diane and you waitress for tonight. Do you already know what… you … want to ...drink?" she rather stuttered out. She hadn't been expecting to see her parents sitting in front of her. Where they here to finally talk to her again after nearly two years of no contact?

"Diane?" the disbelieving look on her mother's face told her that is was an accident they were there that day.

"Hi mom. Hi dad." she quietly greeted them.

"This is a surprise." her dad let out.

"Yeah, for sure." Diane replied.

"How are you doing, honey?" her mother said sounding sincerely interested.

"Good. I mean life could be easier but I am happy." Diane replied. She hadn't told them back when she tried to contact them again after Lee left that she was pregnant so they had no idea that they had a granddaughter. But before Diane told them she wanted to know if they were open to contact again or if they just left again.

"Oh sweetheart. We've been looking for you actually. For a while now. Funny we find you by accident." her father replied.

"You've been trying to find me?" Diane was surprised to say the least. She hadn't expected that.

"Yes. The last time we saw or heard from you was when you were still with that drummer and we are sorry if we were so … " her father was searching for the right words "stubborn and ignoring. He might not be what we imagined for you but you were old enough to make your own decisions. And we are sorry too for rejecting you when you reached out to us couple months ago. We've thought about it a lot and we can't push you away like that. And we tried to find you to tell you we're sorry for how we behaved. If you'll forgive us?"

That was when the tears started flowing down Diane's cheeks. Never since they kicked her out had she thought this day would come.

"I do forgive you. Maybe not fully yet, but some day I think. I'm still a bit mad at you, but I would love if we could stay in contact." Diane offered.

Her mother stood up and hugged her. "Thank you, honey."

"So, uhm. Let me get you something to drink. Otherwise my boss will maybe change his mind about me being so reliable and giving me the next four days off." she laughed still with tears in her eyes.

"Oh okay." her mother shortly replied and her parents told her what they wanted.

The rest of the evening she kept checking in on them and they chatted a little but Diane also had other tables to tend to. She still hadn't told her parents about her daughter, she was scared what they would think that she was a single mother. She had told them that she wasn't with Lee anymore and the band had moved on. It was shortly before her shift ended that her parents were done with their dinner and were about to leave.

"How long do you still have to work?" her mother wanted to know.

"Oh just another fifteen minutes." she answered.

"That's nice. If you don't mind we would wait until you finish and - I don't want to go too far - accompany you for a bit. I just want to keep talking to you. I want to know what's going on with your life now. If you let us. We understand if you're not ready for this." her mother told her.

"No. It's okay. I mean… I would like that." Diane was happy that her parents were finally back and made the effort to show her they still cared. But that also meant she'd have to tell them about Alex soon as she was picking her up after her shift.

Her mother smiled widely. "Thank you, Diane."

"Okay. Ready to leave?" Diane asked her parents couple minutes later when she was leaving. She had thanked Mr. Sensman again for giving her off and made her way to the door.

"Sure." they replied. Diane had made the decision in the last couple minutes not to tell them yet but to just bring them to Carols and introduce them to Alex so they could fall in love with her little baby girl as she did and not be so angry at her for not telling them yet or be upset for getting herself pregnant by that idiot.

As they stood in front of the Chapman's house Diane got really nervous.

"Is this where you live?" her father replied surprised.

"Uhm, no. Carol lives here with her husband and kids, we're just here to pick someone up." she replied and got her keys out. Carol had given them to her so she could let herself in, in order not to wake the kids if they were sleeping when she came to pick up Alex.

"Hi Diane." Carol greeted her when she noticed her friend arriving. Then she stopped in her tracks as she saw Diane's parents behind her. "Hi, Eva, John. I'm surprised, I have to say."

"Hello Carol. It's nice to see you two are still friends." Eva Vause greeted her. In the meanwhile Diane had picked Alex up from the play mat where she and Piper were lying on. A little anxious she went back to the hall where her parents and Carol were still chatting. Luckily Alex was in a good mood and smiling widely. It was her mother's eyes who first met hers and then Alex's. She immediately noticed her daughters eyes looking at her from the baby and made the connection immediately. A little shocked she stood there and waited for Diane to say something.

"Mom? Dad? I want you to meet Alex. Your granddaughter. We are here to pick her up as Carol is so kind to watch her while I am at work." Diane quietly introduced her daughter to her parents.

"Oh, wow. You've got a daughter?" her dad said surprised.

"Yes dad. She is amazing. She is a little sunshine and the best thing that happened to me." Diane smiled at them and then looked lovingly at Alex.

"Wow. How old is she?" her mother wanted to know.

"Six months now." Diane replied. Carol left the room as in the background they could her Piper screaming obviously being upset about being alone now. Her parents looked questioningly. When Carol came back Piper seemed to calm down when she saw Alex.

"Oh, you missed your best friend, didn't you?!" Diane said laughingly to Piper.

Carol said to the still a little confused Vauses: "This is Piper. My little girl. She and Alex are just two weeks apart and already best friends. I take care of the two while Diane here needs to work. Piper always get a little cranky when Diane picks Alex up. They're so used to being around each other."

"Can I hold her?" her mother asked cautiously turned to Diane.

"Sure." Diane was happy that they seemed to not be too upset. Her plan had worked, but of course the serious talk could still come later. Overall they were pretty surprised to meet their granddaughter they didn't know they had. She handed Alex over to her mother. Alex looked a bit surprised but soon gave her grandma the widest smile she had in store so far. Diane could already see her parents falling for her little girl. She didn't know what it was about Alex but everyone was head over heels for her as soon as they saw her and she smiled at them.

From this first meeting on her parents tried to be involved as possible. Of course they weren't happy when Diane told them that Alex was Lee's child and that he left as soon as she told him she was expecting a child but they tried to help her daughter as much as they could. They'd also take Alex during her shift and split the time with Carol so Alex would spent half of the week with her grandparents and the other half with Carol and Piper. Diane's parents were absolutely doting with their grandchild and Diane slowly got worried if Alex soon would be spoiled too much. But she also loved that Alex now had more family than just her mother.

The next months flew by and the two girls turned a year old. As their birthdays were so close together they celebrated them together. Both girls looking very cute with their little dresses and the first teeth showing in the front.


	4. Chapter 4: Everyone needs some luck

_Hey. Sorry I am so late with an update. But the future chapters are probably going to be a little longer as I try to cover a bit more time in every chapter. I'm trying to update as soon as I can. I know some asked me to skip ahead a bit further to see more interaction between Alex and Piper. I'm not going to skip years ahead as the idea behind the story was to show their childhood growing up together and also show the backstory. Also I needed to give Diane something good as she'd gone through so much trouble already. So I try to cover more time with one chapter than I originally intended which I hope is a good compromise for everyone. So I hope you enjoy this chapter. I promise more Alex and Piper is coming soon as they're getting older._

Chapter 4: Everyone needs some luck in their life

Diane and her parents got closer again and they took Alex as often as they could. They still apologized as often as they could for leaving Diane on her own when she needed them. Diane had forgiven them after the first apology and made them promise to stop saying they were sorry when she couldn't hear it anymore.

The work at the diner was demanding and with the double load of work and taking care of Alex she was completely exhausted by the end of the day. She loved her little girl but it was more work recently as Alex had started to crawl around and enjoyed being somewhat mobile and needed so much more supervision than before. Which meant that she had to do house work like the laundry when Alex was asleep which prolonged her day even more.

One saturday afternoon Diane and Alex were visiting Carol for a playdate for Alex and Piper. While the girls played in their playpen Diane and Carol talked about their lives and what was going on.

"Everything normal at the diner?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, much as always. It's exhausting. Some guests are really annoying but that's totally normal. You get that every day. Though we got this new regular who is usually coming in around 1pm and sits at the table right at the back. I think he's testing through the whole menu. Everytime he comes in he orders something else. And he tips well. Like better than anyone else." Diane told Carol.

"Interesting. Is he good looking?" Carol wanted to know with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Oh I know what you're thinking! But yes. He is. So handsome. And always pretty flirty." Diane admitted.

"So. Do you think he likes you? How about you? Don't you want a man in your life?" Carol shot the questions at Diane so fast.

"I've got a feeling that he does. But how am I supposed to do this? Everyday when I get home I am exhausted already. But then I also want to spend time with my daughter and after she is asleep I am doing what is left to do, laundry, dishes or tidying up. After that I just drop dead into my bed until it's time to get up for work. I am lucky my boss agreed to let me do the morning shifts only so I don't have to work in the evenings anymore. How am I supposed to fit a man in there? Isn't he going to freak out when he finds out I got a daughter? I would really love to have someone around, for Alex to have a stepdad. I just don't know if that's going to work, you know?" Diane explained.

"Nobody knows if something's working out if they don't try. I didn't know if it was going to work out with Bill when I first met him. Nobody knows that. That has nothing to do with having a child. But I get that this makes it a bit more difficult. But you can't know and it won't happen if you don't try. So go and flirt back to that handsome man who obviously has thrown an eye at you. Maybe he's going to be what you have been looking for, maybe he's not. But give him a shot, won't you?" Carol tried to convince her.

"Okay, okay. I will. I'll flirt back and if he asks me out I won't say no, okay?" Diane gave in.

"Yay." Carol let out. She just wanted her friend to be happy and knew that she wanted to have a family. She could see that Diane was happy with Alex and she was positive she could do it alone, but thought that she'd be even happier if she had a man who she loved and wouldn't have to work so much anymore and have more time for Alex and herself and her boyfriend too.

"So. How about you? How are you and Bill? Is Danny still enjoying school?" Diane wanted to know but also felt like changing the topic.

"Oh everything is fine. Danny enjoys it. Every time he gets home he tells excitedly what he's learned and I think he's making friends. And Bill and I are fine. Actually we've got some news." Carol said but paused.

"Oh what would the news be?" Diane was curious.

"Well. Danny and Piper are going to have another sibling." Carol more or less blurted out.

"Oh wow. Congratulations!" Diane said, but noticed that Carol wasn't as cheerful as the last times she told her that she was pregnant.

"Thank you." Carol smiled weakly. "It actually wasn't planned. Bill and I had always spoken of two kids. But looks like we're going to have a third."

XXXXX

Couple days later Diane called Carol: "Hey. Carol. Uhm, could you watch Alex Saturday?"

"Yeah, sure. Afternoon? Evening? Oh, has your handsome guest finally asked you out?" Carol was cheerful.

"Uhm, yes he did. And we're going out Saturday evening. Is it okay if I bring her around 6?" Diane asked.

"Yeah, of course. Piper will be happy to have her best friend over. And don't you think of picking her up before Sunday morning!" Carol told her.

"Okay. I'll come pick her up in the morning then. Thank you, Carol." Diane was glad her friend could help her out.

"You're welcome. Why don't you come a little later and have lunch with us on Sunday? Then you can tell me all about your date!" Carol had a quick idea.

"Sure. Thanks again. I've got to go. I think Alex is rolling around on the couch and looks like she's gonna fall down any second. See you Saturday." and with that she hung up the phone.

XXXXX

It was Saturday afternoon and Diane was getting ready but also quite nervous. This was her first date in what felt like forever but must have been about three years. Alex was ready and her stuff packed for an overnight stay at the Chapmans.

"Hey, Alex. You're staying over at Piper's tonight. What do you say to that?" Diane asked her daughter, knowing she couldn't answer yet. Alex's eyes went wide and she smiled widely as she did everytime someone said Piper's name. She let out a light chuckle.

"Yeah, you like that, don't you? You love Piper. That's right. You two girls really are best friends already." Diane said. "You never smile for mama like that!"

"Ama." was Alex's reaction to that and Diane's eyes went wide.

"Did you say mama?" Diane asked surprised to which Alex replied "Ama." again.

"Oh my big girl. You're starting to say mama. Oh I'm so proud of you." she smiled widely to which Alex reacted with a big toothy smile. Her first teeth had come to show shortly before her first birthday. And even though Piper was a little bit younger she had gotten her first teeth first, almost two months before Alex, but their pediatrician had ensured her that it was totally normal and every kid got their first teeth at different times.

Soon Diane was finished getting ready and got Alex and the overnight bag and went to Carols.

"Hi. Are you excited?" Carol asked as she greeted Diane and Alex at the door.

"Maybe a little." Diane played it down. She didn't really want to admit how nervous she actually was. Still she knew Carol wouldn't fully believe her, but Carol let it slip obviously.

"See you later then. Bye Alex. Be good for Carol. I love you." Diane said to Alex and gave her a kiss goodbye.

"Ama." Alex said out loud and Diane again smiled proudly.

"Did she just…?" Carol was surprised.

"Say Ama? Yes. One letter missing but we all know what you mean, honey. She said it the first time when we were getting ready to come here." Diane said proudly and turned to leave. "See you tomorrow."

"Good luck. Go get your man!" Carol shouted towards Diane as she walked down the driveway towards the street.

Diane was walking towards the spot they had agreed to meet around 6.30pm and waited there. She was a bit early but didn't want to spend time just walking around to be there right on the minute so she stood there and waited. It didn't take long though for her date to arrive.

"Hi Diane." she heard his voice from behind and turned around.

"Hi Louis." she greeted back and smiled at him.

"It's great to see you." he smiled widely.

"You too. So what do you have planned? You weren't very specific when you asked." Diane asked curiously.

"I wanted to surprise you. And I dearly hope you like it. It's nothing too over the top. That would have to wait until I get to know you better, if I get the chance to." he started.

"I do like surprises. But still I'm also curious." Diane replied.

"Okay okay." he laughed. "So, I thought we take a little walk through the park and talk. I brought a few things." he held up a bag. Diane couldn't see what was inside but enjoyed the fact that he seemed to have put a lot of thought into their date.

"Sounds good."

They started walking and talking about basics like where they were from and things like that. Soon they were on a rather big green. Louis led them in the middle of it and got a blanket out of the bag he brought.

"What is this? Are we having a picnic?" Diane wondered loudly.

"Yes. That's exactly what I've got planned." he smiled widely. "I got a few things from that italian place at the market that can be eaten warm as well as cold, as I didn't know how long we would be walking before sitting down for the picnic. Plus I brought a few other things including a bottle of wine. I wasn't sure if you'd prefer white or red wine so I brought rosé."

Diane was speechless. He really put a lot of thought into their date. This was the best date she ever had already and it had only started. Diane was sure if he wanted to see her again after this first date she'd not let him go so easily.

At some point they started to talk about what they did for a living and Louis obviously knew that Diane was working as a waitress and told her that he was a teacher at the local elementary school, which delighted Diane as when he was working with kids she assumed he liked kids and knew how to handle and be around them.

"It might sound weird and I guess you get that question a lot. But you like kids, I mean in that job you have to, right?" Diane asked.

"Yes. I love kids. I love how they are the most honest human beings there are. Well mostly." he laughed. "But at that age they are still so impressible. Which is amazing but also a big responsibility, you know?"

"That's great. And I know this is the first date and we are only getting to know each other. But as we are on topic kind of, I would like to ask if you want own kids one day?" Diane tried to say casually. He went quiet for a second. She was about to excuse for asking that question too soon but then he spoke up.

"Uhm, yes I would love to have kids one day. But I've got to be honest. Since an accident when I was 17 I can't have that. It bothers me a lot but I've come to peace with it that I won't ever have own children as in biological own children. But there are other ways. Like adoption or sperm donors. So I haven't given up on the thought of having own children one day." he said soberly.

"Or single mothers." Diane added.

He laughed. "Right. Or I find myself a single mother."

"Well. As we are honest and out on the table and so on. I can say you might have found one already. I didn't know how to bring it up until now, but I do have a daughter. Her name is Alex and she is little over a year now." she smiled hopeful at him, hoping he'd be okay with that.

"Really?" he smiled not looking taken aback by that information at all. "Well then that could happen sooner than I thought." he joked but obviously wanted to show her that it wasn't a big deal to him. "And if you are willing to keep me around I'd like to meet her some time. She must be a very lucky girl, when she has someone like you as her mother."

"Oh stop it. That's too much." Diane said and felt a big blush showing on her face but still she couldn't hide the smile. How did she get so lucky to meet a man like that? This couldn't be real, could it? This was too good! But then she thought that with all the bad luck she had had the recent years it was about time something good like that happened to her. So she decided to just go with it.

They kept talking and enjoyed their dinner. When it got darker around them they started to notice how much time had passed. They packed the blanket and slowly walked back. He offered her to walk her home and she gladly took the offer. When they arrived at Diane's place she felt a little sad that the date would be over but was positive that there would be another one.

"So. I guess you gotta release the babysitter from his or her duty?" he asked.

"Uhm. No. Alex is actually staying overnight with my best friend who has a daughter the same age as Alex. Piper and Alex are already best friends. I'm picking her up tomorrow, actually." Diane answered thinking about offering him to come up for a drink or something but then remembered that the apartment was a mess as she hadn't had time to tidy up the last couple days.

"Okay. Maybe next time I could meet your daughter?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, sure. I'd like that. Diane smiled. They exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye. Before he left he kissed her cheek and then turned around. Diane unlocked the door and still in a daze from her date fell onto her bed with a big smile on her face, the exhaustion of the week catching up to her before she had a chance to change into pyjamas.

When she woke up the next morning she was almost certain she had dreamt the date but noticed that she still wore the same clothes. And a few minutes later she heard her phone beep and wondered who it was. Her parents checking in? It couldn't be Carol to ask how it went, they'd see each other later and she could tell her friend all about what happened.

[Louis: Thank you for the amazing evening yesterday. I hope to see you again soon.]

Diane's eyes went wide. So this was the ultimate proof that she hadn't dreamt the previous evening.

[Diane: I have to thank you. You were well prepared. :-) How about Friday? My turn to surprise you.]

[Louis: Can't wait.]

"Oh my. This guy is too good to be true." Diane said out loud into the empty apartment. She took a long and nice shower, now that she didn't have Alex to worry about falling off the couch or doing something she wasn't supposed to while Diane couldn't watch. Diane had gotten used to quickly shower after she put Alex down and finished the last things that needed to be done before she fell exhausted into bed herself. So she enjoyed the possibility of a long and hot shower a lot. After her shower she got ready to head over to Carols. She had slept in after all and it was nearly eleven already. If she was there a bit earlier she could maybe talk to Carol alone for a bit before Bill and Danny joined them for lunch.

"I want to know everything!" was the only thing Carol said when she opened the door to let Diane in.

"You won't believe it. This guy is too good to be true." Diane said and started to tell Carol about her date.

XXXXX

The next months went by fast. Diane and Louis got to know each other better and fell in love. And it didn't take too long for Louis to ask Diane if she and Alex wanted to move out of their tiny apartment into his. Diane was happy that she seemed to have found the perfect guy. And she loved how he was with Alex. Secretly she already thought that he was the best dad she could have found for her girl. When she saw them playing together she thought that Louis loved her little girl already. He treated Diane like she was the most important person in the world and Diane was head over heels for this man. After the experiences she had made she had doubted that a man like him exists but everyday she was assured anew that he existed and that he wanted her as his partner and girlfriend.

Alex had soon added the missing m to mama and a few other words like 'ball', 'Pi' when she asked for Piper who respectively called her 'Ax', or 'foo' when she was hungry.

After Alex found out how to pull herself up at the table or couch she enjoyed her first times standing and seeing her world from a new perspective. Soon she moved along the side of the table taking a few steps. Diane curiously watched that as did Carol when Piper did the same. On playdates Piper would sometimes pull herself up at the table right next to Alex and they'd just stand there next to each other smiling and learning how to balance and take a few steps. One time Alex had managed to take a few steps away from the table and Piper was fascinated, crawled to Alex and pulled herself up at her best friend. Diane and Carol both thought that any second both girls would fall back into a sitting position but Alex stood and soon Piper did too holding onto Alex. They looked like they were hugging but really just held onto each other for balance and security. However Carol and Diane enjoyed the moment and Carol quickly took a picture of the two girls. When both girls were able to walk there was nothing stopping them and they ran around like the world was theirs. Everytime Piper wandered off Alex was soon to follow as did Piper when Alex took off. The girls were inseparable.

When Diane and Alex lived with Louis for about six months Alex added the word dada to her vocabulary as she heard Piper call Bill like that. When she called Louis like that he shortly looked at Diane to see if that was okay with her who just happily nodded and very much enjoyed the scene in front of her.

When Piper and Alex turned two they had a garden party at the Chapmans garden. They had intended to keep it small but already just family were many people with the Chapmans already being five, the youngest addition Cal only born two months before Piper's second birthday, both Carol's and Bill's parents, Diane, Louis and Alex and Diane's parents as well as Louis parents who had really taken a like to Diane and Alex and already saw them as part of the family. So just the family was a total of sixteen people. Of course they also invited a few friends so the "small" garden party turned to a party of about 23 guests including the hosts.

XXXXX

Another eight months passed and everyone was happy. Diane and Louis were in an invested relationship and a perfect little family. The girls had developed a healthy interest in their surroundings and were both talking more and more day by day. While Carol was busy taking care of Cal Piper stayed over with Diane and Louis every now and then much to Alex's and Piper's delight.

A year and nine months after they first met Louis proposed to Diane as he said there'd be no one more perfect for him and he loved her and Alex so much that he wanted them around for the rest of his life. He already saw Alex as his daughter. After all she had been calling him daddy since she was able to say the word. Of course Diane said yes and was so happy. A week after the proposal they had already told his parents and were on the way to Diane's parents when they got a call. It was the city's hospital telling Diane that her parents had been in a car accident. They didn't say anything about their condition yet which worried Diane to no end. So instead of driving to her parents house they quickly turned around on their way to the hospital. They soon found out after arriving that both her parents had been hurt badly and were in a coma at the moment and they weren't sure if they'd survive. They shortly got to see them but then were asked to leave. Diane cried all the way back to their home and while Louis tried the best to calm her and tried to assure her that her parents were both strong people and they'd make it she couldn't calm down.

The next weeks were hard. They visited often but didn't get many news and the condition of both her parents didn't change much other than the wounds that started to heal. The doctors said both their conditions were still critical and they couldn't promise recovery.

Alex's birthday was a month after the accident and both of Diane's parents were still in coma. They tried to stay positive and not think about it too much. So currently they were celebrating Piper's and Alex's third birthday and everyone wished Diane the best for her parents as well as congratulated her on the engagement as some just found out that day. It was a good day full of hope that soon everything would get better.


	5. Chapter 5: We both are mommies

Hey. Sorry it took me so long. But I got a lot to do at work and have been pretty busy. So here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 5: We both are mommies

Piper and Alex grew so fast, both their parents were amazed by their development. Both girls were talking more and it was fun for everyone around to listen in on the conversation between the two girls. Their favourite game at the moment was playing family with their stuffed animals. Right now Mr. Bear, Alex's teddy bear, was the dad coming home from work and Piper's giraffe Mrs. Sniffles was swimming in the pool.

"Hi honey. Welcome home." Piper said, taking her giraffe out of the imaginary pool and let her walk towards Mr. Bear.

"Hello. I am you do raffi?" Alex answered as Mr. Bear with assumed voice.

"I was swimming."

"Cool. I want to do a car race." the teddy aka Alex answered and Alex got off the couch where they were playing to the mat next to the window where she found some of Danny's play cars. She sat the teddy onto the way too small car and drove with it through the living room.

"No car race!" Piper protested.

"Vrroomm." Alex and her bear on the car drove by Mrs. Sniffles and Piper as fast as Alex could run. She went on with her race as Piper and her giraffe turned back to the swimming pool and Piper made her giraffe a nice drink at the pool. Both of them were playing separately for a while until Piper got bored and asked Alex how long this race was and if she had won already. Alex said one more round and ran through the room and accidently bumped into Piper who had gotten up from the couch. Piper fell and shortly looked like she was going to cry. Alex sensed that and quickly went over to Piper to help her up.

"I'm sorry." Alex said. "Piper hurt?"

Piper shook her head and asked her "Play family again?"

"Okay." Alex and Piper returned to their place on the couch. Diane and Carol checked in on the girls every now and then and saw the two of them playing quietly on the couch and got back to their conversation.

"You daddy and I am mommy." Piper told Alex.

"No. Teddy not want to be daddy." Alex replied.

"Who is Teddy then?" Piper wanted to know.

"Fireman." Alex replied. Recently it had been about firemen a lot for Alex.

"Then Teddy is daddy who is fireman." Piper said.

"Okay. Teddy is gone to put out fire." Alex said and she and her teddy bear jumped of the couch.

"Why always away Alex? I not play alone!" Piper complained about Alex running off again. She jumped off the couch too to follow Alex. Soon their game was forgotten as both girls got into the kitchen and Carol made them pancakes for the girls.

XXXXX

Diane and Louis weren't sure about the planning for their wedding. Even though they wanted to get married soon they didn't want to do it without Diane's parents being there. They still believed that they would wake up soon and they could tell them even though there hadn't been much change to their condition recently. They went to see them every other day, maybe every third if they were busy.

Three month's after the accident Diane's fathers condition got worse. When they came to the hospital that day the nurses were busy around him and Diane knew immediately that something had changed. She hoped for the better but soon the nurses told her that even though it had been steady until now he had shown cardiac arrhythmia recently and it wasn't a good sign. A day later they told her that he had had more problems over the night and unfortunately more than he could handle in his condition. It was a shock for Diane. Her hope had been crushed in less than a day and her mother's condition hadn't changed. At least for her there was still hope even though she would be devastated to wake up and find out she had missed out on over three months and her husband died. She could still get better and wake up someday. Even though Diane didn't know what to do she promised herself not to give up hope that at least her mother could make it through the accident.

The next week was hard. Ever since the accident Alex had asked where her grandparents were and Diane had taken her to the hospital and explained to her that they had had an accident and were in hospital so that the doctors could help them get better. At first Alex understood but when the wounds had healed they looked like they were sleeping and she asked every time when they would wake up and how long they'd sleep. Diane had tried her best to explain it to her, but Alex was only three and it was something really hard to understand for a kid that age. Now she had no idea how to explain to Alex that her grandpa would never wake up and she couldn't see him again. Diane hadn't fully realized that her father was gone yet.

Two weeks later, the funeral had been three days after her dad died, Diane got a call from the hospital to come in. She immediately worried that there would be another one and they didn't want to tell her on the phone that her mom had passed away too. But when she arrived the nurses smiled at her so she was confused. When she entered her mom's room she found that she was awake. Her mom had finally woken up from her coma. If that wasn't good news she didn't what was.

"Hi mom" she greeted her smiling widely.

"Hi sweety." her mom quietly replied her voice still hoarse from not using it for a while.

"I am so happy you finally woke up." Diane replied a lump building in her throat and felt tears rise up in her eyes. She went over and hugged her mom tightly.

"Me too." Eva whispered. For a while no one said anything.

"Uhm. I think it's better if I tell you now. If the nurses haven't told you yet?!" Diane started but was afraid to go on.

"They just told me that it has been close to four month's that I and your dad were in a coma. And one doctor was brave enough and told me what happened to your dad. I know." her voice broke and Diane saw tears rising in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Diane said, both women now crying. Diane was secretly thankful to the doctor that she didn't have to tell her mom about her dad's death.

They talked for a bit. Diane told her mom with tears streaming down her face about John's funeral and what had been the month's before. She told her about the engagement. And Eva was so happy for her daughter.

"Alex has been asking when you'd wake up constantly." Diane smirked. "She missed you a lot. And so did I."

"Oh please bring her soon. I can't wait to see how she's grown." her mother replied with a melancholy in her eyes. "I can't believe I missed so much."

"She'll be thrilled to see you." Diane smiled.

They came visiting the next day. Alex was so excited to finally see her grandma not sleeping anymore.

"Ganma" she screamed as she ran into her room.

"Hi, sweetie." Eva greeted her with a big smile. "Wow. You've grown so much."

"I'm big girl now." Alex answered standing next to her grandma's bed. Eva and Diane chuckled.

"Yes, you are. Come up to grandma. Give me a hug." she held out her arms as Diane lifted her daughter up on her mothers bed. Grandmother and granddaughter hugged tightly for a while.

"I love you." Alex said to her grandma. "I missed you. You sleep so long."

"I love you, too, sweetheart." Eva answered with tears in her eyes. "Yes, I had to take a long nap. But soon I'll be home and we can play with your Teddy again." she told Alex who gave her a wide smile. "Yes. Teddy waiting for you too."

Just about a week later they could pick Eva up and bring her home. Diane and Louis spend a lot of time with her to help her get settled back into life back at home that she now had to do on her own and alone. Eva was happy that her daughter helped her but asked Diane and Louis to leave her alone every now and then to get used to live alone and give her some time to deal with her husband's death.

Six months later they celebrated Diane's and Louis' wedding. Piper and Alex were dressed in cute dresses as they were flower girls. They had planned a small ceremony with a celebration with family and close friends only. They had luck and the sun was shining bright. The location they had chosen was partially outside so guests could choose between the inside tables and dancefloor or chatting outside in the closeby garden. The ceremony had gone well, Diane and Louis both decided to write their vows. Before the ceremony Diane had had a moment of melancholy and sadness as she originally wanted her dad to walk her down the aisle which wasn't possible anymore. But her mom asked her if she could take over that part and do it instead. Diane gladly agreed.

The ceremony was just what the couple had imagined. Everyone wished them well and they kept on celebrating. The dance floor was soon filled with many eager dancers. As Diane was looking to find her daughter she could find Alex and Piper in the middle of the dancers holding each others hands and dancing with their own childish, a little clumsy looking moves to the music. With their matching dresses and nicely coiffed hair they were the cutest sight of the party. They didn't seem to bother about anything else at all. Of course their parents were quick to seize the moment and take a picture of the two girls. Soon they were both tired and Bill brought the girls home where they had asked a babysitter to stay with them until they got home. Carol and Bill had offered Diane and Louis that they'd take Alex for the next weeks so the two of them could have some time to themselves while going on their honeymoon. And that started with Alex staying over tonight already. Diane and Louis would come by shortly before they were jumping on their plane to their honeymoon to say goodbye to Alex.

"Bye mommy. Bye daddy. Have nice holiday!" Alex waved at them as they walked towards the car.

"Bye honey. We love you. Be good for Carol, please!" Diane said as she waved to Alex trying to smile. She felt sad leaving her for two weeks and not seeing her everyday. She was used to not seeing her part of the day when she worked and Alex was in kindergarten, but still she saw her every day.

When they were gone Piper, Alex and Carol went into the house. Piper and Alex went to play in Piper's room. Piper had been super excited that her best friend stayed with her for so long and they could play together anytime they wanted.

"Play family?" Piper asked Alex.

"Okay." she replied and took one of Piper's dolls which was her favourite. Mostly because it had shoulder long black hair, much like Alex herself.

"I play mommy." Piper said and took another doll and a smaller on. "And this is baby." Then she turned to Alex. "You play daddy?"

"No. I want to be mommy." Alex replied.

"But I don't want to be daddy." Piper pouted.

"We both are mommies." Alex just stated.

"But who is daddy?" Piper asked confused.

"No daddy. Phil in kindergarten has two mommies and no daddy. It's okay." Alex just replied and started moving her doll around.

"Okay. I am mommy Piper and you mommy Alex." Piper now smiled, accepting the new family concept quickly.

"And this baby Harper." Alex said.

They kept on playing until Carol got them for lunch. The girls went downstairs and while playing they had put their two mommy dolls away to play it themselves and just kept the baby doll Harper with them to lunch also.

"Who is this?" Carol wanted to know.

"This is baby Harper." Piper explained.

"Okay. You're playing family? Who is the mommy and who is the daddy?" she asked.

"Alex and I both mommies." Piper replied casually.

"Okay. So who is Harpers mommy?" Carol wanted to know. Piper looked at her confused.

"Alex and me." she plainly answered and went on eating her lunch.

After that Carol stayed silent and listened to the girls babbling about their play. She wasn't sure if she liked the girls having this family concept like that. Not that she was homophobic or anything, she just didn't want her daughter to play things like that, even though she knew she couldn't force the girls to play mommy and daddy and decided to let them play the way they wanted to and talk about it with Piper when she was old enough to really understand it.

Diane and Louis had already been gone for a couple days when one afternoon Alex sat on the couch looking very much in thought and a bit sad. Carol went over to ask how she was. And as everytime they were together Piper was close to Alex. It became a habit for everyone that if they looked for one of the girls they'd just search for both because once you found one of them the other one wasn't far away.

"Everything okay, Alex?" Carol asked Alex softly.

"When is mommy back?" she asked with a thin voice.

"You miss her, don't you?" Carol asked and Alex nodded so hard her whole body shook. Carol had prepared for this and got a few things to distract the girls whenever this would happen and she was sure at some point Alex would miss her mom a lot.

"They'll be back next saturday. It's not that long. Until then I got you this little book. How about You draw something in there for your mom and I'll write in there what you and Piper did, when she was away. So when she gets back she can read about all the great things you and Piper did and also see your pictures? Do you think she will like that?"

Alex looked up and seemed to like the idea as she perked up a little. "I think it's good idea. Can I have it? I want to make a big heart so mommy knows I love her."

"That's a good idea. Piper you want to draw something too?" she asked and got the paper and pencils out.

Piper and Alex enjoyed the two weeks the could spend together. Everytime Piper felt that Alex missed her mom she went over to hug her and asked if she wanted to draw something for her which usually raised her spirit a little. But the day before Diane and Louis were to return even a distraction like drawing couldn't help anymore and Alex sat on the couch crying and asking when her mama would be back. Piper sat next to her and hugged her, which seemed to stop Alex from completely losing it. Carol went up.

"Hey, honey. I know it's hard. But your mommy will be here soon okay. Just one more sleep and she'll be here to pick you up." she said to the sobbing nearly 4 year old. The girls birthdays were coming up in about a month. Alex stopped sobbing for a bit and seemed to think about something. Then she put on a serious face and stood up from the couch.

"Okay. I go to bed now. And when I wake up it tomorrow and my mommy is here." she concluded and started walking to Piper's room where the girls had slept together for the last two weeks. Carol could stop her before she was in bed, but already halfway in her pajamas.

"Alex, honey. It's only 11 am. We didn't even have lunch yet. I'm sorry but you can't go to bed yet. Nobody can sleep that long. How about you and Piper go play and I'll make something for lunch soon. What do you want for lunch? It's your day to choose." Carol suggested.

"Okay." Alex seemed to agree. "I want pancakes." she changed back into her normal clothes and went to find Piper.

The next morning Alex was up super early and jumped around asking when her mama would be here about every ten minutes. Around 11 she saw a car driving up the driveway and saw her mom get out. She sprinted to the front door and ran to Diane, literally jumping into her arms.

"Hello my baby. I missed you so much." Diane said and hugged her daughter tightly.

"I missed you." Alex said almost crying. She hugged her and Diane needed to carry her in as Alex didn't let go.

"Don't you want to say hi to me too?" Louis said from behind Diane.

"Yeah. Daddy!" Alex screamed and held her arms out so Louis could take her from Diane.

"Missed you too." Alex told him.

"Yeah. I missed you too, my favourite girl." Louis said and kissed her on the cheek. Soon Alex wiggled free from him carrying her and went to the living room. She came back with her pile of drawings.

"Look, mommy I draw them for you. This is a big heart because I love you. I also made one for daddy." Alex showed them her pictures handing them to her parents and telling what she drew. Both smiled widely and listened to Alex tell them about her time when they were away. They stayed for lunch and told them what they had done on the honeymoon (the limited 'safe for a child' version) and listened to what Alex and Piper had done.

Couple weeks later they celebrated Alex's and Piper's fourth birthday. As every year they celebrated in the Chapmans garden and this time Carol went a little overboard and got a bounce house. But both Piper and Alex and their friends enjoyed it a lot.


	6. Chapter 6: Like sisters

_Hey. As alway a few words from me before the chapter starts. I hope everyone still enjoys the story and where it is going. I actually got inspired for this story by me and a friend of mine. She is two years younger than me and as our mothers did their vocational training together and both still are good friends, me and my friend knew each other from when she was born (even though I don't remember much from that time). We unfortunately didn't live as close by as Piper and Alex in the story but still are really good friends especially as our families went on vacation together a lot when we were younger. So here goes the next chapter. Hope you like it._

Chapter 6: Like sisters

The next year was pretty uneventful. Until the girls turned five Diane and Louis enjoyed their first year being married, Carol started a membership at the local country club, the girls got taller and learned more about the world and picked up many more words to use.

One evening Carol and Diane sat together - they had decided that they'd at least once a month tried to do a friends night where the two women could talk about their everyday life. Usually between dropping the girls off or going out there wasn't much time for a serious talk and some time for just the two friends so they made it a monthly thing to spend time without the kids and their husbands. They tried to do it more often, but both women were pretty busy with the kids, their hobbies, Danny had turned into a big fan of soccer and joined the team at his school, and the everyday operations to keep everything together.

They were already on their second glass of red wine and had talked about different things when Carol turned the conversation to a different topic and asked "Well now that you and Louis are married for nearly a year, have you thought about giving Alex a little sibling?"

Diane smiled. "We talked about this. Yes. And we would very much like to, we just have to discuss our options a bit further as the natural way won't work unfortunately." That got her a questioning look from Carol. "Louis had an accident when he was a teenager and unfortunately can't father a child. I think he is a great dad and even though he biologically can't be he's got the father genes. We think about finding a donor though, or maybe adoption but Louis says he prefers the donor version, because then the kid would be biologically related to at least one of us."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm sure you two will find a way." Carol said empathetically. "You two seem so happy, that I'm getting a little jealous actually. I think the glowing just been married feeling went away too quickly between Bill and me. I wish I could go back to those first days of our marriage sometimes. It was amazing. Currently we are down to the everyday life. I can't remember when we went out the last time. Like just the two of us, on a real date." Carol tried hard to think what and when their last date was but nothing came to her mind.

"Maybe you two should do that. Like do a date night every other week or how often you can fit it in your schedule. I'll be happy to watch the kids for you, you know that." Diane offered.

"Maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea. Don't you aside from the 'freshly married glow' sometimes feel so tired in the evening or by the end of the week that you are too exhausted for anything else than what you had to do this day anyway, if that makes sense?!" Carol wanted to know.

"I think I know what you mean, even though I really think managing three kids and a household is way more work than one kid. So, currently I don't really feel like this." Diane replied.

"Lucky you. Wait until you have a second child and I'll ask you again." Carol laughed. "No. But seriously. I'm glad you found someone like him. He seems to make you very happy."

"He does. He's the perfect husband and the best dad to Alex. Sometimes I can't believe I was so lucky to meet him." Diane smiled widely showing pure happiness.

XXXXX

The girls fifth birthday was celebrated two weeks after Piper's actual birthday as around the time both families were on vacation. Every year they got a few more guests. The kids had fun so far and enjoyed the party. Danny was nine years soon to be ten, by now and found the birthday party for five year olds a bit boring so soon he retreated back into the house to play with the console he had gotten as a christmas present. Cal was two and a half and happy he could run around in the garden which was just about what he did until Carol got Danny out of the house again and asked him to take care of his little brother so he wouldn't run off. The party was good and when they guests left the four parents sat together chatting and enjoying the rest of the evening that was still nice and warm.

XXXXX

Diane and Louis had been talking about it for a while but eventually decided to try it with a donor. The IVF procedure however wasn't very cheap and they knew they didn't have many tries if the first failed. It was a couple weeks after they first tried and about time to test if it had worked out. Diane nervously went to the bathroom to take a test and Louis waited anxiously in the living room. When Diane returned he looked at her with hope she could tell him already.

"It'll take a couple minutes." she quietly said. Nobody knew what to say in a moment like this. Both waited anxiously for the next couple minutes.

"I think we can have a look." Diane broke the silence anxiously a couple minutes later. They were both shaking with anticipation. If this was negative they didn't have many more tries. Diane eventually collected enough courage to take the test and look at it. When she saw what it showed she started crying. Louis wasn't sure yet if this were happy tears or sad. He quickly took the test from Diane and looked at it. It was negative.

"Shh. We'll try again, okay?" he tried to calm her but felt so sad himself that at the same time he said it for Diane he also tried to make it easier for himself.

The next weeks were hard. They tried not to show their sadness about the failed try too much for Alex's sake who noticed that there was something wrong and asked Diane why she was so sad. Diane first asked her how she would feel about having a sister or brother and Alex said she was okay with that but she already had Piper and she was like her sister. That made Diane smile a little and she didn't go on explaining why exactly they were sad and just said that sometimes she got sad cause she missed her dad. It wasn't a complete lie, because sometimes she really missed him and had moments when she was sad he wasn't with them anymore and Alex wouldn't get to play with her granddad anymore. Alex had loved him, too. Diane thought it was better for now to not tell Alex yet that they were trying for another child so Alex wouldn't get upset about having a sibling and then it wouldn't work out. Alex seemed to accept that and went on playing.

XXXXX

Carol had recently spent quite some time at the local country club and made new contacts there. She enjoyed her friendship with Diane but also enjoyed the attention from the women at the country club. One day she came back and found Piper playing in her room. She told her that she met a woman at the club who has a daughter just a year younger than Piper and asked if she wanted to meet her to maybe play together.

"Like a playdate?" Piper wanted to know.

"Yes. Like a playdate. Her name is Nicole and I think you two would get along pretty well." Carol told her.

"Can Alex come?" Piper wanted to know.

"We can ask her." Carol offered.

"Okay. We can invite her. We can play with my dolls. Or I ask Alex to bring her animals and we open a zoo." Piper already started planning.

"Sure. I'll ask Marka then the next time I see her and we can arrange for you girls to play together." Carol said and let Piper go back to playing in her room.

They arranged the playdate the coming saturday. Alex and Piper were already playing the whole morning when around 2 in the afternoon Carols friend Marka came by with her daughter Nicole.

"Hi." the younger kid said towards Alex and Piper as if not sure how things would be.

"Hi. You're Nicole? I'm Piper and this is my best friend Alex. Do you want to come to my room with us to play?" Piper asked.

"It's okay if you call me Nicky." the girl with wild curly hair answered. The girls went to Pipers room while Marka and Carol stayed in the kitchen to talk.

"Alex brought her animals and I do have some. We want to play zoo. How about I take the giraffe and Alex plays the bears and Nicky you can take the birds if you want."

"Okay." Alex and Nicky agreed.

"We can take this to make the enclosures." Piper suggested and got her pens which she started laying down in a big circle.

"How about we do a zoo where all animals can run free? They don't have to be held in a cage like that." Alex rejected to put the pens down to put her collection of teddy bears in a cage.

"Cause that doesn't work." Piper gave back. "Lions eat other animals. Like giraffes and other animals."

"Yeah, but we don't have lions. We have bears, giraffes and birds." Alex argued.

"True." Piper had to give in.

"And we play them. We can always decide to let them live together peacefully." Nicky threw in. "Even if we had lions. They could be vegetarian."

They agreed to pass on building enclosures and let their animals live freely in their zoo. The birds flew all over the room and sometimes carried a bear or giraffe on their back, Giraffes learnt to jump really high and when the room seemed too small the girls ventured out to the living room until it was enough for Carol and she sent them back to Piper's room.

"How old are you?" Alex asked Nicky a bit later.

"Four. But I'll turn five soon." she answered.

"Cool. Piper and me are five already. But it's not going to be long until we turn six. My mom said we'll go to school soon." Alex told her.

"Okay. You are best friends for long?" Nicky asked.

"We know each other since always. Piper was always my best friend. She is like a sister to me." Alex answered.

"Wow. I don't have a sister." Nicky said sounding as though she wished she had.

"Well, I don't have a sister either. Piper has two brothers though. But we three can be like sisters!" Alex suggested.

"Yes!" Nicky shouted excitedly.

"Piper?!" Alex called her, Piper had run to the kitchen to ask her mom if they could have some cookies.

"Yes?!" she asked curiously when she came running back.

"Nicky and me just decided that as we all don't have sisters we three can be like that! You okay with that?" Alex excitedly suggested. Piper seemed to think about it and showed rather mixed emotions.

"I'll think about it." she just gave back.

Later, Marka and Nicky had already left, Diane came to pick up Alex.

"Did you girls enjoy playing together?" she asked Alex and Piper.

Alex smiled widely. "Yes. Nicky is cool. She is funny."

Diane noticed that Piper's reaction was rather held back and not as enthusiastic as her daughters. "How about you?" she asked Piper and bend down to look at Piper from about the same height.

"I don't know." Piper said silently and Diane sensed from Piper eying Alex the moment she asked her that she maybe wanted to say something that she didn't want Alex to hear. So Diane told Alex to go get her stuff. This way she had a short minute to talk to Piper alone. "What's up, big girl?"

"Well I like Nicky. But I liked playing alone with Alex. Just me and her. Nicky is fun but I don't know if I want her to play with us again. Alex just played with her the whole time. Like I wasn't there anymore." Piper's face turned sadder as as she spoke. "Alex doesn't like me anymore." Diane was surprised that the five-year old turned to such a quick conclusion.

"Sh. Piper. Don't say that. I know that Alex still likes you. I'm sure if you ask her she'll tell you exactly that. But if you meet someone new don't you want to get to know them? You and Alex had so much time and you know each other. But you and Alex both don't know much about Nicky. So it's okay to want to know more, don't you think." Piper nodded. "So here comes Alex back again, do you want to ask her?" Diane suggested.

"I don't know." Piper silently replied.

"What ask me?" Alex asked.

"You just played with Nicky today. Don't you like me anymore?" Piper anxiously said.

"What?" Alex went over and pulled Piper into a big hug. "Of course I still like you. You're my best friend. You're like my sister. Nobody could ever change that." she said which seemed to calm Piper a lot.

"But you said that we all three can be like sisters. I don't want that." Piper pouted.

"Okay. We don't have to be." Alex replied. That seemed to calm Piper completely and she even showed a little smile.

"Okay. But she can be our friend." Piper said and seemed satisfied.

Nicky came over to play quite a few times after that and the girls became good friends. Soon it was Piper's and Alex's sixth birthday and Nicky was invited, too, of course. Soon after that the girls came into school. They were both proud to take this step and their parent had agreed it would be impossible not to send them to the same school. And as Louis worked at the local elementary school the girls went to the same school Louis worked at. Alex was thrilled to see if her dad was a good teacher, although she was pretty sure he was because he was an amazing dad and already taught her so much. Both Alex and Piper could write their names and their best friend's name already before they went to school.

Both girls enjoyed their first weeks in school. They got to know their classmates and made a few new friends. Even with all those new kids around Piper and Alex stuck together and the other kids quickly noticed that the two had a special connection. Both girls were hungry learners and literally soaking up everything that they were taught. The school year went on and the girls enjoyed school. They were proud when they could show their parents how well they could read already and which new words they had learned.

Diane and Louis had started another try for a second child but were devastated when it turned out negative again. It would take them some time to save enough for another try, so they discussed adoption for a while and after a couple weeks of discussion they eventually decided to look into that and start the procedure.

Around the end of January Carol and Diane had one of their friends night. They cooked something together and after dinner watched a movie and too some time to talk. Currently they were working on their dinner, something rather easy to make - spaghetti with carbonara sauce, and talked about their everyday.

"It's amazing to see how Piper and Alex both like to learn so much. To be honest, I was a little worried before they started school. I mean Alex was good with sitting down for a while and listening when we showed her something, but sometimes her attention span was very short and she got easily distracted and couldn't sit still anymore. I asked her teacher if that changed and obviously she's been really good at that. It's great that this won't be a problem even though I thought it might become one. You think you know your kid and then it surprises you all over again." Diane chuckled.

"That's good. I worry that Piper is still like that sometimes. Their teacher told me that she still gets distracted every now and then. Often because she is looking at what Alex is doing he said." Carol gave a weak smile.

"Do you think it was a bad idea to put them in the same class?" Diane wondered. "I mean it would have been hard and caused a bit of trouble if we had done so but they wouldn't distract each other?!"

"I don't know. I guess we'll keep an eye on it and talk to them about it. I know sometimes they distract each other but at the same time they help each other and push each other, which I guess helps learning too." Carol pondered.

"Yeah. Good idea." Diane answered, they finished the last things on the sauce and put their freshly cooked meal on their plates and went with their plates and wine glasses to eat at the table.

"What's going on, Carol? You seem kind of distracted and somewhere else with your thoughts." Diane asked her friend with a little worry in her voice.

"I uhm, don't know." Carol tried to dodge the question.

"Please, I can feel that something is going on. I can only try to help you if you talk about it." Diane said.

"I think, that maybe, I have this weird feeling, that Bill might be cheating on me." Carol finally managed to stammer out.

"What? How do you get to this assumption?" Diane was surprised. So far she had thought everything was good between her friend and her husband.

"He's gone more often than before. He says he has more business meetings but I have the feeling they aren't business related. He always comes back in such a weird mood. And he always comes back so late. Like way after midnight. And then I found a stain on his shirt that definitely looked like lipstick. And that shirt also had a weird smell to it. It smelled like perfume. Ladies perfume. And not one of mine." Carol explained, the emotion in her voice palpable.

"I'm sure this has an explanation. Every time I see you two together I got the feeling you're still having a happy marriage. Or is this just the image you're trying to convey? How has it been lately between you and Bill? You never said anything that things were off or something wasn't working." Diane tried to calm her but also wondered where all this came from.

"Well it is hard managing everyday life with three kids and in the evening still have enough energy to take care of your marriage. Recently we didn't have so much time for each other as we used to have. But even at busy times when everything was turned upside down we managed to make it work. And maybe I'm just overreacting, but he's been so distanced lately that my mind starts to wander off and worry. Now that the kids are a little older, I mean Danny will be 12 coming summer. Piper soon will be 7 and already got better with keeping herself busy. Cal just turned 4 and is the one who needs the most attention of the three at the moment. But every now and then Bill and I would have time for some time together but whenever that happens he's gone."

"I'm positive everything will solve and have an explanation." Diane said.

They kept talking that afternoon. And Carol kept an eye on what Bill was doing. Some day when she had this feeling again and Bill had been away for most of the night she was very close to confronting him. But then she thought: What if her assumptions were wrong? What if she accused him of cheating and it turned out to be completely different? That would be more than embarrassing. So she let it go even if this nagging feeling didn't go away.

Diane and Carol spoke as they had planned to Piper and Alex about not letting themselves get distracted that easily and that it was okay to see what others were doing but to also pay attention to the own task and doing what you were asked to do.

They got through their first year of school learning a lot and enjoying reading what they could. At some point Alex got the idea and wrote Piper a note which she found later and ran to Carol asking to call Alex to thank her for that. From that point Piper and Alex kept writing each other little notes every now and then. Usually it wasn't more than a 'Hello Piper.' or 'See you later' when one of them was visiting the other but they were always excited to find a note. Right at the start of summer break was Pipers birthday and as everyday she and Alex celebrated their birthdays together. But this time it wasn't just a party to celebrate their 7th birthday but also the end of their first school year.


	7. Chapter 7: Little brothers

Chapter 7: Little brothers

The summer break was exciting for both girls. The Chapmans went on vacation for two weeks as did the Vauses. The Chapmans decided on a two-week trip to a beach house in Florida where the kids could play in the sand and go swimming in the sea. They enjoyed it pretty much. The three Vauses stayed a little closer to home and took a trip to a bigger city close to the mountains where they could explore the city and go on little hikes. Not too big, just as much as Alex could walk at her age. The Vauses went on vacation a week later than the Chapmans. So when Piper got home from vacation she wanted to go over to Alex and tell her everything about her time in Florida but Carol reminded her that Alex wouldn't be back for another week and she'd have to be patient. Piper was pretty impatient that week. Overall it was three weeks she hadn't seen her best friend and she missed her much. She loved her time with Alex. She always had fun and they could talk about everything. Piper could go to Alex with her problems and she knew what Piper could do and vice versa. Also both always knew how to cheer the other one up on a bad day.

On sunday the Vauses came back and Alex promised to come over to Piper's the next day. Piper was so excited sunday evening that she got up quite a few times when she actually should've been sleeping already to ask Carol if the pictures she wanted to show Alex were there or generally to express her excitement and tell her mom that she couldn't sleep. Eventually the need for sleep took over and Piper fell asleep.

The next morning Piper waited anxiously for Alex to arrive and as soon as she heard the bell ring she ran to the door. Of course it was Alex who as soon as the door was opened found herself in a tight hug.

"Hi, Alex." Piper gave her a big smile.

"Hello Piper." Alex said and hugged her friend back. "I really missed you."

"I missed you too, Alex." Piper returned.

They went inside and couldn't hold back telling each other about their vacation. They had a lot to talk about since it was three weeks they hadn't seen each other. Carol just smiled when they disappeared still talking into Piper's room.

Around lunch time they were down in the kitchen and checked if lunch was ready. Carol was about to prepare it and asked the girls to help by setting up the table. That's what they did while still chatting about everything that came to their minds which they couldn't talk about during the last three weeks.

XXXXX

Soon the summer break was over and even though Piper and Alex got to spend more time together during their summer break than during school time they were excited for school. Both their parents were amazed by the girls liking school so much, as it was nothing they expected. The new school year also brought new clubs with it. This time Piper and Alex weren't quite the same opinion and so it turned out that for the first time they did something separately. While Alex preferred her artistic side and joined the arts club, Piper wanted to do sports and went to the athletics club.

Diane and Louis finally had successfully applied at the adoption center and were now on the waiting list for someone to pick them as the future parents for their baby. They discussed a lot when they should tell Alex and how involved she should be and eventually decided to tell her about wanting to give her a sibling. So one Friday evening the family went out and had a nice family dinner. Both parents were a little nervous to tell Alex because they wanted to tell her, but they didn't know how soon their plan would work.

"Alex, what would you think if you had a little sister or brother?" Diane asked her.

"Well. I don't know. I would have someone to play with when Piper isn't around and I guess that would be nice. But I guess he or she would be a whole lot younger than me. Wait - is this the point where you tell me that this is happening? " she asked Diane directly.

Diane smiled at Alex's quick thinking. "Kind of. Your dad and I want to have a second child. A little brother or sister for you. So we decided to adopt a child. We are just waiting that someone picks us to be their baby's family." Diane started and wanted to go on explaining how adoption works when she got interrupted by Alex who was trying to comprehend what she got told.

"Is this where you got me from? Did you get picked to be my mama?" Alex was confused.

"No honey. There are different ways to have a baby. Let's say I got you the traditional way." Diane started and went on explaining on how babies were made (of course not too detailed) and that there were also other ways for the possibility that this way wouldn't work. After she was done with her explanation she could see Alex's mind working on everything she just learned.

"So you say when two people love each other they have a baby?" Alex asked.

"Yes, if they decide to." Diane answered and added "And sometimes if it happens by accident."

"So I was in your belly? But I am so big. I wouldn't fit in there!" Alex concluded.

Diane laughed. "Honey. When you were born you were so small. With time you grew. You weren't always this big. If you want we can look at the pictures at home if you want. Then you'll see how big my belly was and how tiny you were when you were just born."

Alex thought for a minute. "Yeah, I'd like that. Wait - everyone was a baby once, right? Then you were this small too and were in grandma's belly?" she eventually concluded.

"Yes, sweety. I was so small once too. Every human was so small once and was inside their mommy's belly until they were ready to be born." Diane told her.

"But when you go to the adoption place the baby was not in your belly?!" Alex looked at her confused and Diane tried her best to explain to her that the baby would grow in another womans belly but that this woman decided that she can't be the mommy of this baby so she gives the baby to someone who wants to be the mommy. Alex went on thinking and had even more questions.

"But you said that having a baby needs a woman and a man. Phil from kindergarten has two mommies. And he said he came from his mommy's belly. But they are two women!" Alex got a little confused. Diane explained that his mother's probably went to a doctor to help them and how this worked. It was a long talk between mother and daughter about parents and babies and different family models that were all good as long as everyone was happy. Alex had a thousand more questions but when Diane sensed that it got a bit too much she told Alex they'd talk about it another time so she could think about what she had learnt already until then. Diane noticed that the whole topic kept Alex busy for the next days as she kept coming to her with all kinds of questions and Diane did her best to answer them as honest and still child appropriate as possible.

Half a year after they had officially been put on the list and having had the talk with Alex about having a baby couple days after that the agency contacted them that a young mother had looked at their file and wanted to meet them to see if they were the parents she was looking for for her baby. Diane and Louis were excited and anxious at the same time. They thought about bringing Alex to the meeting for her to see they already had an amazing daughter and can be good parents. But they weren't sure if it was good for Alex. Louis and Diane didn't want Alex to get all excited and then be disappointed if the woman would not choose them or chose them and maybe later decide to keep the baby. Eventually they decided to bring Alex and have her involved. They wanted her to be a part of this not feel left out. They'd just have to explain to her what could or could not happen and that them meeting this woman didn't necessarily mean that she'd give her baby to them.

A week later the woman, Shirley Brown, and the Vauses met at a café to talk and get to know each other a little.

"Hi. I'm Shirley. You must be Diane and Louis." she greeted them as she entered the café and saw them sitting at the table.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. Thank you for meeting us." Diane said friendly as she and Louis greeted her but was a little irritated that she seemed to completely ignore Alex's presence.

"Same. The agency actually didn't tell me you had a child already?!" she sounded a little insecure.

"They didn't? We filled out everything and I thought there was also one or more pictures with Alex. So I'm a little surprised you wouldn't know. But okay. So this is our daughter Alex. You want to introduce yourself, honey?" Diane asked Alex.

"Hi. I'm Alex. I am seven and a half and go to school where my daddy teaches. I'm second grade already and my best friend Piper is also in my class. It's really nice that you're meeting us, I'm so ready to be a big sister!" Alex told her smiling widely and Diane laughed at her enthusiastic self-introduction.

"It's nice to meet you, Alex." Shirley replied and held out her hand for Alex to shake. Alex went all out instead and went to hug her. "Oh, okay. A hug it is." Shirley laughed.

They talked for a while. Shirley told them that she got pregnant in a not so good relationship and that she didn't feel ready to be a mother yet as she hadn't finished college yet and felt like this was the better option for her as well as her baby. After a while of talking and getting more comfortable with each other she asked Diane why they were looking to adopt when they already had a daughter. She then honestly told her that she had had Alex before she met Louis and Louis told her about the accident and the consequences. They told her that they tried treatment with the help of a donor but it didn't work. They understood each other well and Diane and Louis were hopeful that they would be the couple that would fit with Shirley's perception. Before they said good bye Shirley asked if she could talk with Alex alone for couple minutes and after checking with their daughter Diane and Louis left and went to wait outside.

"So. Alex. Do you know why I wanted to talk with you alone?" she asked her.

"I guess you want to know if mom and dad are good parents." Alex said.

"That's right." Shirley confirmed.

"And the answer is yes. They are the best parents. But I am probably pretty biased as they are my parents and I love them." Alex told her.

"You are a smart girl." Shirley smiled.

"My dad is a teacher and he teaches me a lot. Like I could already write a little bit before I came into school." Alex told her proudly. "Plus my mom is smart too. And I'm her daughter."

"I can see that. Do you mind if I ask you some more questions?" she asked Alex.

"Not at all. Go ahead."

"Okay. How are your parents when you've done something they don't like? Or something you shouldn't have done?" Shirley wanted to know.

"Well usually when I don't want to go to bed or I took some sweets from the cupboard that I'm not supposed to eat my mom comes to me and asks me why I don't want to do something or why I took them. And then she tells me why she doesn't want me to do things I am not supposed to do. And usually there is a pretty good reason, but I love chocolate. I mean who does not? So every now and then I take some even though I know I shouldn't." Alex told her.

"That's nice. And your dad?" she asked further.

"Well he has this look. And every time he looks at me like that I know I did something wrong. And I feel bad for making him look at me like that. He doesn't say anything but I know he is not happy with what I did. And then I try not to do that again, because seriously that look is scary!" Alex said.

"Okay. What do you like to do with your parents when you have a free day. Like on the weekends?" Shirley wanted to know.

"Well, usually on the weekends everyone has to tidy up their room first and as soon as everyone is done we do something together. Like go to the zoo. Or play a game. My dad used to read books to me. Now I can read to him though. Or we build something, like last week mom and I made a little bed for my teddy. And sometimes I visit Piper or Nicky or they come to visit me and we play. But we also have to do homework. Daddy said it's important to do them so you learn." Alex wanted to go on but Shirley slowed her down a little.

"That sounds great. Thank you for answering my questions. I would like to keep talking to you but I think your parents are waiting for you impatiently outside." she said.

"They are pretty patient though. But yeah. They said we could go to the playground later and we pick up Piper. So I'm ready to go." Alex said.

Diane and Louis stood outside the café and talked until they saw Alex and Shirley come outside.

"Hey you two. Did you have a nice chat?" Diane smiled.

"Yeah." Alex just replied.

"So. I have to go. I'm meeting with a friend soon and I don't want to be late." Shirley began. "It was great meeting you today. I hope you are okay if I can't tell you right now if this is going to work, but I do like you three and I promise to let you know soon, okay?" she said.

"It was very nice meeting you too. And we get that this is not an easy and fast decision so we want to give you some time to think about it. Contact us if you have any more questions or if you want to meet again." Diane said trying to sound calm and collected when really she wished she had an answer already.

The next week went by and they didn't hear much from Shirley. Both Diane and Louis noticed that they both were quite tense and tried to calm each other but still the thought was always there that she could decide against them or against adoption at all. A week and a half after their initial meeting Shirley called and asked them if they could meet again and she'd tell them her decision then. They of course agreed and looked forward to the second meeting.

The meeting went as well as the first time though this time they were less talking about themselves to get each other but more about how things would work if she decided to give the Vauses. Shirley said, she didn't want to be completely oblivious about her baby, but she didn't want to be involved either. She said she would totally be okay if the Vauses would maybe send her some pictures every now and then and maybe tell her something about the growth and development and so on. When the Vauses asked how and what exactly she imagined she told them that maybe a yearly letter or so would be okay. After all with giving her baby to them it would be their baby and Shirley said she'd give all rights up and they could tell him or her about her or not. It would be their child, Shirley just wanted to know how he or she was. Diane and Louis talked about it for a second but eventually agreed to send Shirley a picture and news at least once a year if she chose them. Talking about terms like that made Diane hopeful that Shirley had decided to give her baby to them.

"So. After we've been through this, could you … maybe let us know your decision?" Diane anxiously asked not being able to wait any longer.

"Yes. You two are great and from what Alex told me you are the parents I imagine for him or her. So I'll let you have him or her gladly." Shirley said. Diane and Louis looked at each other and both noticed tears in each others eyes. They were so happy.

"Thank you." Diane said and hugged Shirley who was taken by surprise a little.

"No. Thank you for wanting to give this what I think really good life to my baby when I know I couldn't." Shirley said.

They didn't tell anyone yet. They arranged everything with the agency and hoped that Shirley wouldn't change her mind last minute. The baby's due date was a month after Alex's birthday. So when they celebrated Alex's and Piper's eighth birthday they eventually told everyone about their decision to adopt and about the baby being born soon with good chances to be theirs. Quite a few people were surprised but most were happy for them and wished them the best.

Two weeks later they got a call from Shirley telling them she had gone into labour. They had talked about everything with everyone upfront for this day and quickly dropped of Alex at the Chapmans house and drove to the hospital. They couldn't wait to hold their baby in their arms and still were anxious about Shirley changing her mind. Louis tried to calm Diane several times but every time unsuccessfully. Diane knew the feeling of holding the baby that grew inside you for nine months in your arms for the first time and knew how strong the emotions were. She trusted Shirley but also knew what giving birth and the moments after the birth were like. She had loved Alex the second she first saw the tiny face and feet and fingers. So far they didn't even know if it was going to be a girl or a boy as Shirley had insisted on not being told before the birth and the Vauses had agreed to waiting until birth to find out.

They waited in the waiting room until one of the nurses came out of the delivery room and told them everything had gone well, they'd take the baby to clean off and measure it and the usual proceedings. Shirley was fine and asking for them to come to her as soon as she was in her room. And they found out it was a boy. Both were really emotional and waiting for the baby to be brought to them. Before that happened they shortly talked to Shirley and thanked her again. Shirley told them she hoped they would always be as happy as she had gotten to know them the last months and then send them out as she was emotional and exhausted.

They left the room and one of the nurses found them and brought them to a separate room where they saw their child for the first time. The nurse brought him over and Diane could hold him for the first time. Both Diane and Louis were crying now and so happy they finally had gotten there. They were holding their baby they had been waiting for so long in their arms.

"Welcome to the world. Felix John Vause." Diane said. They had chosen the name carefully. They were prepared for a girl and a boy. Felix meant the lucky one and even though they felt lucky to have him they chose that one for him and the second name John was for Diane's father who unfortunately wouldn't get to know his grandson.

Later that day Louis went to pick up Alex who was excited to meet her little sibling. She was amazed by how tiny he was and Diane and Louis could already tell that Alex would be a great big sister.


	8. Chapter 8: Wo do you want to be?

Chapter 8: Who do you want to be?

Of course Alex was an amazing big sister. She looked after her little brother frequently and jumped at every whimper from him to see if he was missing something. She spent a lot of time watching him and making sure he had everything he needed. When Piper and Alex met to play Alex told her about everything and Piper wasn't annoyed or anything, just sometimes she wished they could talk about other things than Alex's baby brother. She herself didn't remember how she had been when her younger brother was born as they were so close together that she had been way too young to actually remember the difference to how it was before Cal was born.

Piper still liked going to school even though sometimes things got a bit more difficult at times. As every school year she sat next to Alex and no one in her class even bothered to ask her if they could be her seatmate at the start of the school year because they knew she wouldn't sit next to anyone but Alex.

Couple weeks before they turned nine both girls and Nicky went out together to the playground. They played that the three of them were detectives who had to solve who stole the diamond ring from the store. The girls enjoyed their time and that their parents were okay with them going to the playground alone without them. They were playing for a while already drawing other kid's attention to their game who asked if they could play too. All three were okay with that and so their group got a bit bigger. When the game was over and they had eventually found the thief the bigger group of about ten kids went on playing hide and seek which was way more fun in a larger group than with just three players.

Nicky got picked up first and quickly said goodbye before jumping into her mother's car. Diane picked up Piper and Alex and was about to drive Piper home.

"Diane?" Piper started, obviously having a question.

"Yes. What is it, Piper?" Diane asked.

"Can I come to your place today? Have a sleepover with Alex?" Piper wanted to know.

"We have to ask your mom first but sure you can if she says yes." Diane replied. Piper was happy. She was sure her mother would be okay with it. They drove to the Chapmans house and asked Carol who as assumed agreed to Piper spending the night at her best friends house. Piper quickly went to her room to pack a few things and soon came back and they went to the Vauses. As soon as they came in Piper and Alex disappeared into Alex's room.

They talked for a bit about school, things they found annoying and in general what was going on.

"How do you like being a sister now?" Piper wanted to know. "I know my brothers are so annoying sometimes. Especially Danny. He thinks he is this really cool thirteen year old who has so many friends and everyone else is just a loser. Though he always seems to get everything right with my parents, like he is perfect at school and sports and all the teachers always say he is such a good student and my parents now are always like 'Piper why don't you do this or that? You could learn something from Danny every now and then!'"

"Sounds really annoying." Alex replied. "Well Felix can be cute sometimes but I really don't like waking up in the middle of the night. Mom and dad tried to do something so I don't hear him anymore and don't wake up but our rooms are just too close. Other than that I love him."

They played for a while, making up stories and acting them out. When it was time for dinner Diane went to get the girls and watched them play for a while. Their current play, from what Diane heard and saw, was playing family. They had built a kind of tent with the blankets which obviously functioned as a house and Piper had a pillow shoved under her shirt, she obviously was playing the pregnant mom. Diane smiled, it was cute to see them play like that and wish it would stay like that for a while. But she knew one day not so far away they'd get older and interested in other things like normal teenagers. They'd start puberty and probably be all about boys and their looks and the normal things that meant going through puberty. It would end their interest in playing together like that, but Diane enjoyed the fact that they still did and hoped it would last as long as possible.

The weeks went on and the girls were playing together as usual. Their ninth birthday was as usual celebrated in the Chapman's garden and Piper and Alex invited a few friends they made in school. After the summer they now went to third grade and both had their favourite subjects. Alex was better in maths and Piper preferred the languages while both really enjoyed physical education, though Alex preferred ball games while Piper was good in athletics. Alex didn't understand how someone could have fun with just running. After all it was just plain running. Where was the fun in that?

On day in the middle of November Piper went to school and missed Alex sitting next to her. She waited impatiently for the next break to find Louis and ask him why Alex wasn't at school. When she found him he told her that somehow she had picked up chicken pox and was at home as to not pass them on to anyone. He also told her that she couldn't come visit Alex since she'd get them too if they had contact. Piper was sad to hear that and hoped that Alex would be okay soon so they could see each other.

When she came home this afternoon she ran to the phone to call Alex. It was rare for the two not to see each other or talk to each other. Alex was happy about her call and told her how horrible the chicken pox were and that she wasn't even allowed to be too close to Felix cause her parents didn't want her to pass it on to her little brother. She found that very annoying but understood that it would be bad if he got chicken pox too. The next days were pretty boring for Piper without Alex to talk about everything or laugh about the strange behaviour of some of their classmates. After the third day of school without Alex she told her mom that she'd go to the playground to play with some friends from school. She saw her mom watching out the window when she left she started walking towards the playground which wasn't in direct sight of their house and changed her course as soon as her mother couldn't see her anymore. She tried to get to her destination without attracting attention and luckily succeeded with her mission. She knocked on the window and got a surprised "Piper?" when the window got opened.

"Quiet. Can you help me in?" she asked.

"Sure. You shouldn't be here though!" Alex said. "You'll get this too and I can tell you it's no fun." When she was inside Piper looked at her and saw the red spots all over Alex's body.

"Do they hurt?" she wanted to know.

"Sometimes. But more than that they itch so badly all the time. And mom made me promise to not scratch them. It's just too damn hard! She said if you scratch them too much you'll probably get scars. And I don't want that. It'll look terrible." Alex explained.

"I hope you're through with them soon. I missed you." Piper said and hugged Alex.

"I missed you too Piper, but you really shouldn't be here. I don't want to make you go through that." Alex insisted.

"I don't care. I wanted to see you and talk to you." Piper explained.

"We could have talked on the phone, you know?" Alex chuckled.

"I know, but it's not the same." Piper said and started updating Alex on what she had missed at school. A while later they heard Diane outside the room. As both knew Piper shouldn't be there the blonde girl tried to quickly hide in Alex's closet. She hoped she was fast enough as Diane entered the room and hoped she hadn't seen her. If she did she didn't show it.

"Hey, everything okay? Do you need anything? How are you feeling?" she asked Alex.

"I'm good. I don't really need anything right now. Just sitting here reading my book." Alex replied and pointed at the book that was laying next to her.

"Okay. I'll leave you alone then. You can come to me if you need anything." Diane said and turned to leave. With the back to Alex she smiled. She had seen some movement and thought that someone had hidden quickly and concluded that it might be Piper who snuck in.

"Thank you, mom. I will." Alex said.

'Oh please not right now' Piper thought but couldn't help it. In the most inappropriate time ever Piper got a hick-up. She tried to hold her breath and be as quiet as possible. Diane heard the noise from the wardrobe which confirmed her suspicion that Piper was there and hid because she knew she shouldn't be here. Neither of the girls saw Diane smiling as she left the room.

"Really, Piper?!" Alex asked unbelievingly when she was sure her mom was far away enough to not hear her.

"I'm sorry. I tried to hold my breath and be as quiet as possible but I couldn't stop it." Piper quietly explained.

"If she had noticed you she surely would have send you home." Alex explained.

"Yeah, but obviously she didn't, because I'm still here." Piper gave back.

Both girls stayed a bit quieter to not raise suspicion and kept talking and playing one of Alex's board games that both liked playing. A while later both girls noticed it was already dinner time and Piper got a little afraid that she'd be home too late but when they heard steps coming closer again, Piper quickly hid again, this time as she was closer underneath Alex's bed.

"Hey honey. It's time for dinner. Would you come join us?" Diane asked when she entered.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in a minute." Alex said and acted busy.

"Oh and ask Piper if she wants to join us." Diane added as she walked out of the room.

Alex stood there for a second not sure how her mother knew that Piper was here.

"Well obviously she noticed you were here." she said to Piper who crawled out of her hiding spot.

"Yeah, I heard that. And by the way. You may want to clean a few things under there." Piper said holding up a used tissue.

"Oh. Sorry. Must've fallen down. I didn't see that." Alex quickly took it from Piper and threw it away blushing lightly.

"Okay. As she knows I'm here I'm gonna come with you to say hi, but I really need to go home. Otherwise my mom will know I wasn't on the playground as I told here I would be." Piper explained.

"Hi Diane." Piper quickly greeted.

"Hi honey. Nice try hiding." Diane smiled.

"How did you know I was here?" Piper wanted to know.

"Well, for starters, I saw the wardrobe door move and I've never heard that the wardrobe had a hick-up. And you forget that I'm Alex's mom. I noticed that she missed you those last days but when I came in today I saw it on her expression that something was different. I just added up one plus one." Diane explained. "You want to have dinner with us?"

"I would love to but I think my parents will wonder where I am if I'm not home soon. I told them I was going to the playground." Piper told her feeling a little guilty that she had lied to her parents.

"I don't know how I like that, Piper. You're not supposed to lie, are you?" Diane said.

"I know. And I feel bad about it, but they wouldn't have let me if I told them I was visiting Alex." Piper explained her behaviour.

Just then the phone rang. It was Carol. Diane shortly spoke with her.

"That was your mother, Piper. She was worried. They looked for you on the playground when you didn't come home and were scared when they couldn't find you. I told her I'd bring you home after we have dinner. And please don't do that to your mother. I know I would be scared if I couldn't find Alex where she said she would be. Also she would be in a lot of trouble for lying to me." she told looking at both girls.

"Yes." Piper said quietly feeling guilty.

When she got home that evening she had to face an angry Carol.

"Piper. Come here. Have you any idea how worried I was? We've been looking for you everywhere." she threw at her accusingly.

"I'm sorry, mom." Piper just replied looking down.

"Don't lie to me again. You're grounded for the next two weeks. You will come home straight after school."

"Please, mom. Can Alex still come visit?" Piper felt like crying.

"You'll see her in school. That'll be it as long as you're grounded." Carol gave back and sent her to her room.

Of course something came in the way of that. Piper got chicken pox too. And while she cursed the pox she thought it was worth it, because she had missed Alex and seen her for an afternoon but was missing her now too that she couldn't see her in school either and Alex couldn't visit her on account of her being grounded. Unfortunately she also passed the chicken pox on to Cal who complained to her at any given chance. Combined with not seeing Alex Piper felt pretty terrible at the moment. Alex tried to visit but Carol sent her home everytime she came over. Piper heard her mom talk to her when she came and asked if she could see Piper.

Once everyone was through with the chicken pox and being grounded everything went back to normal and the end of the year was through. Both families celebrated New Year's together. The beginning of the new year was also uneventful and soon Piper and Alex turned ten. This summer the families had decided to go on vacation together which Piper and Alex welcomed a lot because then the wouldn't have to wait so long to see each other again. They went to a beach house about three hours from the home and everyone enjoyed the time outside and the swimming in the sea. Piper and Alex spend a lot of time on the beach. Both girls completely immersed in their books they didn't notice much going on around them. Every now and then though when some older boys walked by they got some comments that both girls tried to ignore. They soon decided that boys were the worst and they completely couldn't understand why girls would ever behave like they saw older girls running after boys or trying to get them to like them. While Piper quickly went back to her book Alex looked around as her eyes fell onto the girl standing close by as she thought that she was very pretty.

Unfortunately the summer passed way too quick and it was time to go back to school. It was their last year in elementary school and both girls knew it was important how well they did this year.

"What do you want to do when you're grown up?" Piper one day asked Alex when both girls were in Alex's room to chat.

"I don't know. Maybe become a teacher? Like my dad. Maybe not. I don't know." Alex answered and asked Piper back.

"I would love to be a veterinarian actually. I could work with animals the whole day and help them get better when they're sick." she replied.

"That is a good plan." Alex replied.

"Who do you think you'll be when you're an adult?" Piper wondered.

"Woah. Getting philosophical here. Who knows? How is anyone supposed to know that?" Alex asked back.

"I don't know. Maybe the better question is who do you want to be?" Piper replied.

"Well I know that right now I don't want to be someone who has an answer to that question." Alex said.

"Smart answer." Piper replied and smiled.

Just then Diane announced that Nicky had come over and soon joined them.

"You okay, Nicky?" Alex asked looking at her. Nicky seemed a bit down and not like her bubbly loud self.

"I'm not sure." she answered.

"You want to talk about it?" Piper offered.

"I don't know." Nicky just said and sat down on Alex's bed.

"Whenever you're ready we'll be there to listen." Piper told her sincerely.

"Thank you." Nicky said politely.

They kept on chatting and Nicky perked up from being distracted from whatever had been on her mind. After a while of playing together Nicky opened up and told them that her parents told her they'd get a divorce.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." both Pier and Alex said. Nicky didn't really reply anything and changed the topic and Piper and Alex went with as obviously Nicky didn't want to talk about it.

Meanwhile Diane and Carol were talking in Dianes kitchen as Alex, Piper and Nicky were playing in Alex's room.

"How are things going with you and Bill?" Diane asked as there had been a few bumps in the Chapman's relationship.

"I don't know actually. Remember how I told you couple years ago that I thought Bill was cheating on me?!" Diane nodded. "Well, this time I'm pretty much sure about it." Carol said deploringly.

"What makes you so sure?" Diane asked surprised.

"Different things. As it was back then he is out for longer than usual every now and then. He has 'business dinners' way more often that he used to. But everytime after he comes back from those he is always so distant and I can't seem to get a word out of him. Plus, he smells weird. He has perfume on him which is clearly womens perfume and not one of mine. And the other night when we went to bed I found a spot on his neck that definitely looked like a hickey. So all together that makes me pretty sure." Diane's heart sunk when she heard her friend tell her all the things she recently had noticed about her husband.

"Shit." Diane didn't know what to say.

"Exactly." Carol let out a sad chuckle.

"What are you going to do?" Diane wanted to know.

"I have no idea." Carol replied clueless.

"I actually don't know what to tell you other than I'll be there for whatever you decide to do. You can count on me being there in every situation you need me." Diane offered.

"Thank you, Diane." Carol said sincerely. "I really appreciate that."

Over the next weeks and months Carol watched her husband and tried to figure out what to do. She remembered how she promised herself when she was younger that she would never let anything like that happen to herself like it happened to her mother but eventually found that it was too late as her husband already cheated on her. Now the question was what she was going to do about it. And even after a long time of thinking about it, she didn't really have a clue. She remembered how it had been when her parents got divorced and she didn't see her father very often anymore. She didn't want that for Danny, Piper and Cal. But could she just ignore it? Block out what her husband did? Recently she had been down so often that she couldn't stop from the one or more scotch to get her mind off her husband's unfaithfulness. Diane didn't like that development but didn't really know how to help her friend other than discussing with her what she could possibly do and the consequences, from addressing Bill about it directly to getting a divorce to different possibilities how they could deal with the kids and what would be.


	9. Chapter 9: Changes

_Hey everyone. I know it often takes me a while to update. I'm just so busy with work and other things sometimes that there isn't much time to write. But you're lucky. I've had a bit more time and felt somewhat inspired. So here is the next chapter. I can't promise you another one as soon as this, but I try my best to update as soon as I can. Let me know how you like it. Have fun reading. _

Chapter 9: Changes

The rest of the school year passed by quickly and the chicken pox disaster was long forgotten. Carol was still struggling with her husband's infidelity. So far her decision only had been that she wouldn't divorce him as she didn't want to do that to their kids. She tried to act like everything was normal but it took a lot of her energy. She noticed herself getting more easily annoyed by small things Danny, Piper or Cal did, which weren't intended to upset her but every now and then she just lost control and everything got too much. The kids surely noticed that but she couldn't explain it and kept doing what she had been getting better at for the last year: ignoring things.

Piper didn't like her mom's current behaviour and started spending more time than ever at the Vause's house.

"Did I miss you moving in, Piper?" Diane one day asked her half jokingly.

"Uh, no. I just prefer being here. Then I don't have to be at home." Piper said quietly and rather serious.

Diane turned serious, she noticed the change in Piper's demeanor. "Why? What is going on?"

"Ugh. Not much actually but it's a lot less stressful around here." she just said. For now Diane let it go but she wanted to know what this was about. She knew that Carol was going through a tough phase and Diane had told her how she thought about the situation and advised her to get a divorce if her husband couldn't keep his marital vow to her. She offered Carol to help her with whatever she would need but her friend was very reluctant or even deprecating to take the advice.

In Alex's room Piper and Alex laid on Alex's bed and talked.

"What is so stressful?" Alex asked as she had heard Piper talk to Diane.

"My mom is. She is annoyed by literally anything. I don't know what happened but she is different. She is yelling at us for the smallest things. Sometimes I get the feeling that just breathing too loud can upset her. I think that she is angry about something but can't let it out and it accumulates and then she explodes like a time bomb with minor things. Like last time I asked her if I could have another ice tea. She always makes us ask for that, because she wants to control how much sweet stuff we're having, so I didn't want to get yelled at because I didn't ask. But instead she was super annoyed by me asking and not just taking it and yelled at me as if I had asked her if I could bring a weapon to school and hurt someone or something equally bad."

"Wow. Do you have any idea why?" Alex asked.

"That's the point. I don't. But her outbreaks are unpredictable. So this is why I'd rather spend as little time as possible at home where I can be the target of her anger." Piper said sad.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Alex told her.

"Thank you. Distract me please!" she begged Alex.

So Alex thought for a bit but soon had an idea on how to do that. "Come with me." Diane, Louis and Felix were dressed as if they're leaving. Diane saw the two girls come down and smiled.

"I was just about to find you. We are headed to the playground. Do you girls want to come?" she asked.

"Uhm, we'd like to stay here, actually if that's okay?" Alex answered with a look at Piper who nodded assuringly.

"Okay. I got my cell phone with me if anything should happen or if you need us, okay?" Diane said.

"Okay. We'll call if needed." Alex replied.

"Have fun. I love you." Diane said to Alex.

"You too. Love you, too." Alex answered and her parents and brother were out the door.

"So what are we going to do?" Piper was curious.

"How do you feel about baking?" Alex asked.

"You wanna bake a cake?" Piper smiled at her expectantly.

"If you want to?!" "Sure." They went to the kitchen, got a bowl and Alex told Piper what to get her.

"Flour. Sugar. 5 eggs. Butter and a bit of vanilla sugar plus a bit of salt." Alex and Piper collected everything, measured it and mixed it in the bowl.

"You know how to make this by heart?" Piper looked at Alex admiringly as she noticed she had no recipe laying anywhere.

"Yeah." Alex just replied and put the batter on the baking sheet and put it in the oven.

"When it is gold brown we take it out, make little holes in the surface with a fork and put the sour topping on which we are going to make now." Alex told Piper.

"Okay." Piper was amazed how Alex did all of that so easily. Her mother barely showed her how to make anything.

"So. you cut those two lemons in half and I'll get the powdered sugar. Then we'll mix the juice of the lemons with the sugar and have our icing." Piper did as she was told and cut the lemons and squeezed out as much of the juice as she could. They were done with the icing before the cake was ready. About twenty minutes later they took it out and put it out to cool down a little.

"Did your mom show you how to do this?" Piper wanted to know.

"My mom isn't the biggest baker, actually. She is a really good cook though and showed me how to make a few things. Dad is the one who likes to bake though. He taught me how to do this." Alex explained.

When the cake was a bit colder they took forks and had a lot of fun sticking it into the cake to create little holes. "Why are we doing this? Couldn't we just put the icing on and be done with it? Why these holes?" Piper wondered.

"Because with the holes the sugary lemon juice is not only on top of it but also has a chance to go into the cake which makes it a lot better, believe me." Alex replied.

When they were done and put the icing on top they put it outside again to cool down some more and waited for Alex's parents and brother to return. They kept talking until about half an hour later they heard keys open the door.

"Mhm. It smells amazing in here! What did you do?" Diane said as coming in.

"We made the lemon cake." Alex replied. "It's ready and waiting for everyone to eat it."

"What an amazing surprise!" Louis said smiling widely.

They ate the cake and made coffee and hot chocolate for the kids. They kept chatting about everything that came to their mind and had a fun afternoon.

"Thank you, by the way, Alex and Piper for making the cake. It was great. I think even better than my version." Louis said to the two girls.

Piper felt so content and happy that afternoon and completely forgot about the situation at home. However when it was getting later she knew she had to go home at some point.

"So I guess I gotta go home." Piper said sadly.

"Your parents would surely miss you if you didn't." Diane said. She would really have to talk to Carol soon. She couldn't let her kids get affected by her indecisiveness like that. She saw what effect it had on Piper and surely it wasn't much different for Danny and Cal.

XXXXX

Diane had a long talk with Carol and she promised she would do her best to not take her feeling bad out on the kids. Piper, Danny and Cal noticed the change in their mother and had hope that things had resolved and everything would go back to normal. However Carol's tries to be as she was before her husband cheated on her and to stay away from alcohol which made her grumpy and caused her yelling at her kids, only lasted for about two months and Piper gave up hope that her mom would be how she used to. She had always liked the connection she had with her mother but during the last year they had lost it. Even though Piper hoped they would be able to get it back but wasn't sure. For now she decided it was better to leave it and she tried to stay away from home as much as she could.

Couple weeks later it was the girls birthday again and even though they were looking forward to it something was different this year. It made Piper sad that her mother couldn't just be happy for her and celebrate her eleventh birthday with everyone who was at the party. Also her dad had been there in the morning until afternoon but told her he had an important business dinner he had to attend to and wasn't there for most of the party. When he said that she saw her mom's face twitch a little and she left the room. The party was good. Even though the party was happening Alex, Piper and Nicky soon disappeared into the tree house that Piper's parents had given all three of their kids as a christmas present couple years ago.

"How are you doing, Nicky?" Piper asked her. "We haven't seen each other much and had much chance to talk since your parents got the divorce and you moved with your mom."

"It's okay. I don't really see my dad and sometimes miss him. But at least now they don't fight anymore. It's so quiet in our house now." the ten-year-old said.

"Maybe you can come see us more often?!" Alex offered.

"Yeah, we miss seeing you." Piper added.

"I miss you guys too. I'll ask my mom." Nicky said. "How about you? What's been going on in your lives?"

"Everything as usual." Alex answered. It was true, her life was the most consistent compared to Piper's and Nicky's at the moment. Which had it's good side, because the Vause family was one of the places Piper felt at home. More than at her own parents house sometimes.

"Well. I don't know where to start. My mom's constantly yelling at us. And I've got the feeling she is drunk quite often. My parents don't talk to each other anymore other then who drops off me, Danny or Cal somewhere. Every time my dad has a business dinner my mom gets even more upset." Piper explained adding "Maybe they should get a divorce too?! Maybe it stops this sometimes even hostile environment in our house. I don't know if I really want that, but I'd do anything for this to get better."

"Wow. That's a lot." Nicky said.

"So. You two finished your last year at your dad's school. Where are you gonna go next year?" Nicky wanted to know. She had gone to a different school and as she was a year younger than Alex and Piper she was in the grade below them. She however hoped that after she finished the following school year she could maybe go to the same school as Piper and Alex.

"We'll still go to the same school. But we don't know yet if we're going to be in the same class. They said they can't promise that. It's just on the other side of town. Actually pretty close to where you live now." Alex provided the information Nicky was looking for.

"That's cool. Hopefully I'll go there too next year." Nicky said.

"That would be cool." Piper said.

XXXXX

After the summer break the new school year started and as it turned out Alex and Piper were in different classes. As they finished their first day they promised each other to spend breaks together and see each other after school to talk, play and spend time together. As the weeks went by they stuck to their promise with spending the breaks but eventually some more kids came to spend the break as both girls found friends in their class. The school year went by and it was only a month left until Alex turned twelve and and a month and a half until Piper's birthday. Sara had asked her to go to a movie together. At first she was reluctant, especially as Sara didn't like Alex and sure wouldn't like if Piper asked if Alex could come. But then Piper told herself that even though she was best friends with Alex she could also go and see a movie with Sara and do something without Alex for once.

So she agreed to go with Sara. So the following saturday afternoon Piper and her friend Sara stood in front of the cinema waiting for the older boy, they had asked to get them tickets, to come back out and give them their tickets.

"Piper, will you please take off those stupid glasses?" Sara asked annoyed.

"Fine, but stop saying my name. I'm Zoe. Call me Zoe." Piper insisted.

"Okay, Zoe. Here he comes." Sara said.

"Here you go. Two tix to Dazed and Confused. Have fun." the boy said when he handed them the tickets and left.

"Thanks." Sara replied politely.

"What if it's rated R because something really inappropriate happens, something that scars us for life?" Piper was still not sure if they should go see a movie they weren't expected to see. To be honest she was a little scared.

"Will you stop? We've got the tickets. It's all cool. Why not try to enjoy it?" Sarah was getting annoyed.

Piper looked across the street and saw her father leaving a diner. He wasn't alone though.

"Oh, my god, my father!" Piper said to Sara.

"Yeah, right. Quit being such a spaz." Sara though Piper was slowly getting a bit paranoid.

"No, seriously, look across the street." Piper pointed to the other side of the street. "That's my dad!"

"Oh, shit." was all Sara said to that.

"See?" Piper knew she was right.

"Oh, shit." Sara replied when they saw Piper's father get closer to the car being very close to the woman who accompanied him.

"Who is that?" Piper asked, not being sure if she really wanted to know, when he kissed the woman and they got in the car. Piper's dad didn't see her standing on the other side of the street. Piper suddenly felt really sad and angry at her dad. What he did was cheating. That woman he just kissed was not her mother. And he was married to her mother. This was wrong. He shouldn't do that!

"Maybe the movie will take your mind off it. I gave the guy 10 extra bucks to buy the tickets for us." Sara said and tried to make Piper come to the movie with her. Piper wasn't so sure if the movie would help her not to think about what she just witnessed. If her mom knew? She couldn't, right? She wouldn't let that happen. Men shouldn't kiss women they're not married to.

When returning home Piper had thought a lot about her dad's action and whether to tell her mother and came to the conclusion that is was best to tell her mother. This wasn't right. Her dad definitely shouldn't do anything like that.

A few days later she had found enough strength to tell her mother. She found her mother in the kitchen. "Mom?" she cautiously said.

Carol held out her hand having the grocery bags on the kitchen counter. "A hand would be nice." she said.

"Mom, I have to tell you something." Piper was still cautious. She didn't really want to make her mom said but thought she needed to know.

"What? Oh, good heavens." she said looking out of the window towards the neighbours. "The Neals finally decide to repaint and they choose that colour? I've gotta call Barbara."

"Wait, Mom?" Piper couldn't wait for her mom to finish that phone talk. This was way more important than some house colour. And she needed to do it now because she wasn't sure if she would have the courage to do it later.

"What?" Carol asked impatiently.

"I really wanna talk to you about something I saw." Piper answered quietly.

"Was it worse than the Neals' puke-green house?" Carol wanted to know.

"Yes."

"Well, that's saying something. What is it, dear?"

"Well, the other day, Sara and I went to the movies at the Suffolk." Piper quietly started.

"Sara B. or Sara H.?"

"Sara H." Piper answered, not sure why this was important.

"Hmm. Go on." Carol listened and moved closer to Piper.

"I, I saw Daddy." she said shyly. She wanted to back out but knew that now that she started she also needed to tell everything to finish what she started.

"Okay."

"He was with someone. A lady someone. He kissed her." Piper said almost apologetically.

Her mom took a moment to react, just shortly shook her head a little and asked Piper: "What movie did you and Sara H. see at the Suffolk?" Piper could hear her mom's voice trembling but her expression on her face didn't change at all.

"Um, Dazed and Confused, but…" Piper was confused. How could her mom be so calm?

"Piper Elizabeth Chapman, you're grounded." Carol said rather breathlessly.

"What?" Piper couldn't believe this. Why was she getting grounded? Her dad did the wrong thing! Was this the gratefulness she got for being honest with her mother?

"That is an R-rated movie and you are not 17, and I did not give you permission to see that movie. How do you even get tickets? You know, I don't want you hanging around with that Sara H. She is a bad influence." Carol turned back to cleaning and acted like nothing happened. Piper was deeply confused about her mother's behaviour.

"Please put away the groceries while I call Barbara. You know, that color is actually making me feel nauseous." was all Carol added and Piper followed her orders and put away the groceries. She wasn't so sure anymore if telling the truth always was so crucial. And then it slowly dawned on her that maybe her mother knew about her cheating father already. Maybe this explained the weirdness and anger of the last year. But a whole year! How could her mother just ignore completely that her father was unfaithful to her?

Now that she was grounded there was no way that she could ask if she could go over to Alex's. So she went back to the kitchen where her mother just finished talking to Barbara on the phone.

"Mom. I know I'm grounded, but could Alex maybe come over, if she got the time?" Piper cautiously asked.

"You know the rules. You'll see each other in school tomorrow." Carol shortly answered and left the kitchen. Piper knew there was no sense trying to change her mind so she would have to wait until the next day to speak to Alex.

The next day Piper quickly found Alex during their first break.

"Hey Alex. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked to get her away from the group of girls from her class she stood with.

"Sure." Alex replied and followed Piper to a rather quiet area of the yard.

"Could you maybe sneak into our tree house this afternoon? I'm grounded cause I went to see a movie last weekend that I shouldn't have. I'll tell my mom that I'll go reading in the tree house. That's the only place I'm allowed to go outside of the house as long as I'm grounded." Piper told Alex.

"I'll try to. But why? What is happening? Can't you tell me now?" Alex was curious.

"Not here. And I need to talk to you. Without anyone else being able to hear." Piper said.

"Okay. Sure." Alex said. "You wanna join us for the rest of the break? Get whatever this is off your mind for now? You seem to be upset about something."

"Yes. Please I need some distraction. I'll tell you later in the tree house why." Piper was thankful for the offer.

This afternoon Piper quickly collected something to drink, some sweets and her book in a small bag and headed towards the tree house. She'd wait there until Alex would be able to sneak in and at the same time avoid her mom. She was surprised though when she saw Alex already sitting there as she made her way into the little house.

"Hey. You're already here." Piper stated the obvious.

"Yeah. I came as soon as I could. Whatever you wanted to talk about seemed important." Alex explained.

"It is. I brought us something to drink and some sweets. Help yourself to whatever." Piper said and didn't really know how to start telling Alex about what was on her mind.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Alex asked after Piper didn't say anything for a while. So Piper reluctantly started to tell her best friend how she had been to the cinema the other day and how she saw her dad.

"Oh wow. That's big. What are you going to do? Does your mom know?" Alex looked at her eyes wide open.

"I don't know. And mom knows. This is what is most disturbing about all of this." Piper said and told her how she had told her mom after deciding it would be the right thing to do and that she didn't react to it at all. "So I concluded, that this isn't new to her. But how can she ignore that? I guess that is the reason she's been so upset about almost anything the whole last year!" Piper said and felt herself get angry.

"Oh shit." Alex just replied. While talking they had been sitting next to each other. Now Alex laid down and held her arms up to Piper pulling her down. So they laid next to each other in a hug and didn't say anything for a while.

"Maybe your mother doesn't want to get divorced from your father because she wants you three to grow up with both of your parents?!" Alex tried an explanation.

"Maybe. But you know how it is around here. Or better how it was. Before all this happened. And I don't know. Maybe a divorce wouldn't be that bad. If they don't love each other anymore, which I guess is the case, as my father goes out with other women, they shouldn't be together anymore, right?" Piper concluded.

"Maybe. That's very idealistic." Alex chuckled. "I think your mom got her reasons to do as she does."

"I guess she does. Using big words now, huh?" Piper chuckled. "Aren't we supposed to be idealistic? I mean, if I don't believe that people should be honest to each other how can I know who says the truth and who doesn't?" Piper asked.

"Now you're getting philosophical. I don't know, Pipes. But I can promise you I won't ever lie to you." Alex told her sincerely.

"Thank you. I promise you I won't ever lie to you either." Piper said and the whole talk with Alex had calmed her a lot. Alex was the one she could always talk to. She didn't trust anyone as she did trust her and was so happy to have her.


	10. Chapter 10: Who I like

Chapter 10: Who I like

Their birthday came soon and they celebrated differently this year as Piper and Alex had asked if they could go swimming with their friends and have a pool party. Their parents soon agreed. Piper made Alex promise not to tell anyone about her seeing her father a few weeks earlier and her mother's reaction. So far they hadn't spoken about it anymore and Piper was okay with it. For now she just wanted to forget that it happened. Still she felt bad about it. Later, when Cal and she visited their grandma, she had to tell her. She still was a bit confused as she always thought that one was always supposed to tell the truth. But then her grandma told her sometimes it's better to not say anything in order not to hurt someone. That was until Cal came running into the kitchen where Piper and Celeste had milkshakes and told them panicked that he had set his room on fire.

The situation at home was still tense and Piper used her chance to stay over at the Vause's as often as she could. One day when she was there the whole family sat down and had dinner. Felix who was about four and a half now kept standing up and running around until either Diane or Louis told him to sit down and finish his dinner. After they were done Diane shortly asked Piper if she could ask her something. Louis and Felix had already disappeared into the living room and Alex stood in the doorway waiting for her to come to her room.

"Alex would it be okay if we talked alone for a minute? I'll send her up when we're done." Diane asked her daughter. Alex looked at her confused but eventually agreed.

"Are you okay, Piper? Because you seem a little tense lately and I know something is up. I would like to help you if I can." Diane asked her.

"I'm okay." Piper said quietly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell more people about everything.

"I've been a little worried recently." Diane slowly started. "I want you to know you can talk with me about everything that bothers you, okay?"

"Thank you." Piper said. She contemplated if she should tell Diane. She was friends with her mom, maybe she could talk to her about it? Help her?! "I'm not sure if I should tell anyone." she slowly started.

"Why shouldn't you?" Diane wanted to know.

"Because it's … I don't know. I think my mom wouldn't want me to talk about it." she said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Diane went on.

"I don't know. I already talked about it with Alex and my grandma but you're friends with my mom so maybe you could talk about it with her? Help her?!" Piper said and look at Diane hopeful.

"I'll give my best to help Carol. But I can only help if she wants anyone to help her. But I promise I will do my best. Do you want to tell me about it?" Diane cautiously asked. Piper nodded.

"Well, the other day I went to the movies with a friend. Before we went I saw my dad…" Piper started nervously and went on telling Diane what she had seen. Also how she told her mom obviously knew about it. And that she thought that this is why her mom was drinking so much the last year and why she was so easily annoyed by her kids.

"Wow. That's not something a kid should see. I'm sorry you were pulled into this. And I'll talk to your mom about this. I promise. We'll work on this. And whenever you need you can come to me with everything." Diane offered shocked about what Piper had told her. She knew that Carols situation was rough and it was hard to deal with it but she had no idea about the details and felt so sorry for Piper for being pulled into this like that.

"Thank you, Diane." Piper said thankful and went over to hug Diane. She left Diane sunken in thoughts and went to find Alex in her room.

"Hey. What was this about?" Alex asked when she entered the room.

"Hey. Your mom literally notices everything. She said she was worried. She must have noticed that the last weeks were hard for me and I told her about my dad." Piper told her.

"I know. She is like a detector for hidden things. Try keeping secrets from her!" Alex chuckled. "She knows immediately something is up. It's really hard to surprise her."

"I can imagine." Piper replied, mood lighting up a little.

They kept on talking and Piper enjoyed the change of topic very much, cause it distracted her from what was going on.

The weeks went on and even Piper and her brothers were worried that their parents might divorce nothing happened. Diane had a serious talk with her friend which didn't change her mind on the divorce but made her more wary about her alcohol use and her behaviour towards her kids. After the summer break was over and everyone went back to school it was much more busy and with Alex and Piper finding new friends in their classes they tried still spending time together but somehow it got less and less. It usually worked on the weekends that they did something together every now and then they were also busy with their families on weekends. So the times they saw each other got less and less. As they had hoped Nicky went to the same school and Alex and Nicky hung out on the school yard together during breaks. Piper tried to join them but was asked by girls from her class to join them and Piper tried to split her time between her clique and her friends. Turned out that didn't work out that well. When she joined Alex and Nicky they were talking about insider stuff that she wasn't in on and she soon felt a bit left out. Which made her spend more time with her clique.

"Have you seen Jessica today? That sweatshirt is doing her no good." Brit said and the other girls giggled.

"Same as the one yesterday." Mary joined in.

Sometimes Piper thought it had been more fun to hang out with Alex and Nicky but she also often felt like she had to go her own way and not always stick with the same people. Plus even though she'd spend all her childhood with Alex they had developed quite different interests and something that she couldn't quite grasp stood between them.

"What do you think, Piper? You seem pretty consumed in thoughts." Brit noticed.

"Uhm, nothing. Jessica should get new clothes." she quickly added. She had quickly noticed how the other girls thought about what to wear and she didn't want to end up as the unpopular girl just because she wore the wrong things so she quickly adjusted.

The bell rung and they went back inside.

"Hey Alex." she greeted her as they passed in the hall.

"Hi Pipes." Alex greeted back and they went in their classrooms.

Lunch break was around soon and the school cafeteria was filled and loud. Piper said as usually with her friends and Nicky and Alex at another table.

"What are you so mopey about?" Nicky asked Alex.

"Nothing." she tried to play it down.

"That's bullshit." Nicky retorted.

"You're a pain in the ass, you know?!" Alex chuckled.

"You're welcome."

"It's Piper. Look at her. It's like she changed completely. I never thought she'd wear anything like THAT. But now she's hanging out with those idiots and I don't know." she quickly ended not knowing what to say really.

"Oh, you're jealous that she's one of the popular girls now?" Nicky laughed.

"No. I'm not jealous. I know her and she's not like them. Or at least she wasn't." Alex returned.

"You miss having her around, huh?" Nicky wondered.

"Kinda. I mean, no offense, but she's always been the one who knows me best and I thought we understood each other like no one else." Alex offered.

"None taken. That's tough. But you have me now." Nicky answered.

"Yeah." Alex replied.

The time went by and the school year progressed. Alex and Piper saw each other in school. But other than saying hi or asking if the other one was okay they didn't have much contact and even though they missed spending time with the other the was this weird new distance between them that neither of them really knew how to break.

Soon it was summer, both girls turned 13. It was the first time they didn't celebrate together but had a party each. For old times sake and because their families expected it they went to each others party but just as before they just exchanged a few words.

When the new school year started it was as the year before. Nicky and Alex hung out together and Piper stayed with her clique.

"What a long summer break. But guess what!" Brit said excitedly.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"Joey Snade, the like hottest guy, spend the summer at the same beach as me this summer. Turns out his family owns a beach house very close to ours." she replied waiting for the rest of the clique to cheer.

"Oh my god. That must have been amazing." Brooke replied.

"Well, duh!" Brit gave back as if that was obvious and Brooke's comment was plainly stupid.

"Well, do you see Tom Fride over there? He can't get his eyes off of Piper!" Mary pointed out.

"That's not true." Piper reacted surprised.

"It is. He's totally checking you out!" Brooke told her. And it was true. As Piper looked over she saw him looking at her and he gave her a smile when he noticed that she was looking.

After school Piper was walking towards the bus stop when Tom Fride caught up.

"Hey, Piper. Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Uh, no. I don't mind." she answered.

"You look nice today. Always do, actually. Would you maybe want to go and see a movie with me some time?" he asked clumsily.

Piper was a little surprised. "Uh, sure." she replied.

"Great. Give me your number and I'll text you?" he asked. And Piper gave him her number.

The rest of her clique stood at the bus stop already making big eyes when they saw Piper walking towards them with Tom next to her.

"Piper?" Brit squealed excitedly.

"Calm down, Brit." Piper told her. "And before you ask, he asked me if I wanted to go see a movie."

The other girls giggled. Looked like Piper had her first date. Tom texted her pretty soon and they agreed to go to the cinema the coming saturday.

On Monday the girls asked her about every little detail but Piper didn't want to give away too much. Also because there wasn't much to be told. They had seen the movie and gone to the diner after that and talked while they had a coke.

"And are you seeing him again?" Brit asked they question everyone was keen on hearing the answer.

"I don't know. Maybe?!" Piper answered. She honestly wasn't sure. She had liked the date but wasn't sure if she liked him like that.

"You don't know?! This is Tom Fride we're talking about. Every girl in our year would love to be in your place!" Brooke told her.

Piper didn't reply to that and already went back to the classroom instead.

XXXXX

Alex weeks and summer had been a bit different. The Vauses had again been to the beach over the summer and she had spend a lot of time at the beach and had to her own surprise enjoyed the view at the lifeguard close to her a lot. After being back at school she of course noticed Piper's group and the excitement about Tom Fride. Somehow it annoyed her a lot knowing that Piper went on a date with that moron. She actually couldn't understand the hype the other girls made about boys like him. Imagining any guy asking her on a date grossed her out. And actually Nicky was the only person she could talk to about things like that.

"Well, maybe that'll come some day?" Nicky wondered.

"Who knows…" Alex answered.

"But didn't you tell me about that hot lifeguard when you were on holiday this summer?" Nicky wondered.

"Yeah. True. That lifeguard was really beautiful." Alex replied.

"Well usually guys prefer handsome, but whatever." Nicky said.

"Smartass. And the lifeguard was a girl to be honest." Alex admitted.

"Well then. There is your solution. You don't want a boyfriend. You want a girlfriend. As easy as that." Nicky smiled widely. Alex was surprised by her friends pragmatism.

"As easy as that? But to be honest I always thought girls are way prettier than any guy. Does that mean I am gay? Why is this so confusing?!" Alex crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on her arms.

The next weeks Alex spend more time trying to figure out if she really was into girls which ended quickly when she first ran into Stefanie. Immediately she thought that she was one of the most beautiful girls she had seen and as days went by and after watching her a little she was sure she had to get to know her. Plus everytime she looked over to the blonde girl and saw her smile she had this weird tingly feeling in her stomach. Nicky noticed and asked her in her direct manner.

"I think I have a crush." is all Alex answered.

"On Stefanie?" Nicky smiled. "That completely confirms the theory. Welcome to the world of lesbians."

"Welcome? Since when are you part of the world?" Alex asked surprisedly but quickly added "Of lesbians I mean."

"Well it didn't take me as long as you to figure out what I want." Nicky simply stated.

"Oh. Okay. Guess this is it then." Alex said.

XXXXX

At the same time Piper sat together with her clique as they discussed which boys were totally cute and who would never get close to one of them. Or better the other girls did and Piper stayed rather quiet listening to the other girls discussion.

"Piper you are awfully quiet." Sarah stated.

"It's been entertaining to hear your discussion." she shortly replied.

"Well take part in it!" Brit demanded.

"I will." she defensively answered.

"By the way, how are things with Tom going?" Brooke wanted to know.

Piper had eventually decided to go out with him again and actually found that she liked him. After a long walk in the park he had even kissed her. She hadn't told the girls yet but they were all over it now that she told them.

"Oh my. Is he your boyfriend now?" Mary asked excitedly. The rest looked at her expectantly.

"I guess." Piper said. The girls cheered.

Things changed though pretty quickly as couple weeks later Tom ended it and honestly it had taken Piper by a little surprised but she got over it pretty fast.

One day, the clique had already collected at one of the picnic tables outside, she joined them as they were whispering about something. They suddenly stopped when she arrived at the table.

"What is going on? What are you whispering about and why did you stop?" Piper asked, them hogging together like that made her suspicious.

"Oh nothing. Actually, you know Alex Vause don't you? A while back you've been hanging out with her." Brit eventually offered.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Piper was curious why they would talk about Alex.

"Well. Brooke heard that she heard from Sean that someone saw her kissing Stefanie Paulson behind the gym building." Brit chuckled.

Piper was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah." they were waiting for any kind of reaction from Piper who were too surprised for any kind of reply.

"What do you say?" Sarah challenged her.

"Well. I don't know. So what? Is that a big deal?" Piper asked uncertainly.

"Eh, duh?!" Brit said and looked at her strange.

"I gotta go. I'll be late and my mom will be super annoyed." Piper quickly said and left. She didn't really want to talk about something like that with the girls and she needed time to herself. She didn't really want to think about if what they had said was true. But she couldn't help herself. Then again she thought, why was it a big deal if it was true? If you like someone, does it matter if they are a girl or boy?

The next couple weeks Piper wondered if it was true but was pretty busy with her own stuff so she stopped wondering about if in fact Alex liked girls.

That was until she saw her with Stefanie in the park. They were holding hands and giggling. She quickly hid. Piper had no idea what she would say to Alex if she noticed her being there. So Alex had a girlfriend. What would be wrong with that?

XXXXX

Alex had been super nervous at first but eventually collected all her courage and had asked Stefanie if they could hang out. She prepared for a rejection and was actually surprised when the older girl agreed. She actually couldn't believe that a girl like Stefanie would agree to hang out with someone like her. Things progressed but she was pretty annoyed when she heard the story going around that someone saw them kiss the other day. Well, it was true. They did. But she wasn't sure if she liked that now the whole school knew about it.

But things were great. She liked Stefanie and spending time with her was amazing but then they had quite the fight. Alex wasn't ready yet to be all out and she wasn't sure how to tell her parents. Stefanie pushed her to finally do that but Alex wanted to do that at the right time and when she was ready. About four months after they first hung out Stefanie ended it and it hurt Alex pretty bad but she knew there was nothing she could do.

Alex had seen Piper at school and noticed at some point that she had no more contact to that guy and found out that he had broken up with her. Good. Alex had never liked him. Even though she and Piper had barely any contact she still felt a connection to her which might have been the bond they made growing up together like they did. Some weeks later Alex also noticed Piper not hanging out with her usual clique anymore. She wondered what was going on, but had no idea why Piper had left her group of friends and what happened.

XXXXX

"And do you see those clothes?" Brit laughed. Piper always seemed to join the group later as everyone else and they usually were gossiping about something already. Brit and Sarah had turned fourteen recently and just celebrated their birthdays. It was a couple days later and the clique was sitting at the picnic tables during lunch break.

"What clothes?" Piper asked as she sat down.

"I wonder how anyone can like her. Especially Stefanie who could have literally anyone." Sarah went on completely ignoring Piper's question.

"Are you talking about Alex?" Piper asked a bit more loudly.

"Isn't that obvious?!" Brooke replied. "I mean that jacket is so last season or even older."

"So you're the fashion guru now?" Piper asked. It actually made her quite angry to hear them talk about Alex like that. She knew it wasn't exactly right to talk about others like that either, but with Alex she had to say something.

"What has happened to you now, Mrs oversensitive?" Mary wondered.

"Nothing." Piper replied.

"Anyway." Brit rolled her eyes. The rest though went on with their gossip and the things they said got meaner and meaner to eventually insulting Alex completely and Piper couldn't take it anymore.

"Shut up! I've got enough of this. Alex is actually a really nice girl. So much better, kinder and smarter than all four of you combined." she eventually snapped.

"Piper!" Brit exclaimed. "What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing I just can't take your shit anymore." she spat out.

"Someone is in love with the dyke." Piper heard Sarah whisper to Mary.

"That's completely bullshit Sarah. I'm just not going to listen to you guys insulting everyone else around us anymore. You're not nice people. Shame on me for taking this long to realize!" Piper said, got up and left.

And just like that Piper was left alone. She had left her clique and had not many friends outside the group. She didn't have much contact to Alex or Nicky anymore and felt embarrassed if she'd just went over and was all like 'Hey let's be friends again' after they had barely any contact at all. So she stayed by herself. It was unfamiliar to eat lunch alone or not to have anyone to talk to but after a while she got used to it.

Soon it got summer and the school year was over. This year Piper didn't celebrate her birthday at all. She didn't have anyone to invite to a party so she just spend the day doing what she had liked for the last weeks: read.


	11. Chapter 11: The party

Chapter 11: The party

The summer holidays were pretty boring for Piper. She read a lot and enjoyed the holiday at the beach. At the beach over their holidays she noticed even more than the year before that the boys were checking her out. Some eventually found some courage and asked her for a date and sometimes she said yes to escape the boringness of the day for a bit. It was nice but she never went further than maybe a small kiss after the date. When they were back home her mother asked her to come to the country club with her. She first agreed but after the first time she had gone with her mother she stayed at home, thinking at least there it wasn't as boring as in that club. Soon they went back home anyway and at some point started school again. This year there was a new girl in her class, Polly, who just moved to the town. It happened that the seat next to Piper was free and Polly chose to be her seatmate.

"Hi. I'm Piper." she quickly introduced herself when the brunette girl sat down.

"Polly." she answered. Then class started.

"If you want I can show you around?!" Piper offered after the bell rung.

"That would be great. Thank you!" Polly smiled at her with a little surprise visible in her face. Obviously she hadn't expected an offer like that.

"Did you move here over the summer break?" Piper started the conversation.

"Yeah. Both my parents found new jobs around here so we had to move." Polly replied.

The two of them kept chatting as Piper showed Polly around. Piper found quite soon that she liked the other girl and thought that maybe they could become friends and she wouldn't be so lonely anymore. And that was just how it happened. Polly was happy to find a friend at her new school so easily and Piper was happy about their new friendship too.

Piper was really surprised when about a month after school started again Michael Smith asked her out. He was two years older and she couldn't believe that the 16 year old would ask her on a date. Plus she had to admit that he was cute. So she agreed. They went out a couple of times and she liked him. About two months later the schools fall party was organized and the whole school was excited to see who went there with whom. Piper didn't really like those kind of events so she didn't really want to go.

Polly stayed over at her place about two weeks before the school party and they were chatting in Piper's room.

"So are you gonna go?" Polly asked.

"I don't really want to." Piper replied. Things would be awkward. And Piper was her former cliques new favourite gossip subject so she wasn't keen on seeing them at any party again where they would give her looks that she always felt to be very condescending. And at those situations she wondered again and again how she could have been friends with them for so long.

"Surely Michael wants to go?!" Polly tested.

"I don't know. I haven't asked him." Piper answered honestly.

"What? It's like two weeks away, Piper!" Polly was surprised.

"I know. But I guess I haven't asked him, because I don't really want to go?!" she said.

"Do it now!" Polly demanded.

"Okay, okay. I'll text him." Piper said and did just that.

"Plus I want to go and I don't know many people beside you. Please help a friend?!" Polly said.

"Why do you want to go in the first place?" Piper questioned. "If you don't know anyone?"

"Well most parties are fun usually. Plus it's a way to get to know more people? Maybe find someone I could go out with? Seeing you with Michael makes me want to have a boyfriend too." the brunette replied.

Just then the text from Michael arrived saying he would like to go if she wanted too.

"See. I told you. He wants to." Polly said.

"If I wanted to. And I don't really want to." Piper argued.

"Please do it for me and your boyfriend!" Polly begged.

"Ugh. Okay. But you owe me. I'm only doing this for you really to be honest." Piper gave in.

"Thank you!" Polly screamed in excitement.

"So. What to wear?" Polly wondered. "Uh. I know what. We'll go shopping!" she said like this was the best day of her life.

XXXXX

"So how do you think about this school party?" Nicky asked one afternoon when she and Alex were hanging out.

"Nothing much. I can't understand the excitement, plus, I don't care, cause I'm not going." the black haired girl answered.

"Why? It's the event of the year." Nicky laughed.

"It's going to boring as fuck." Alex replied. "Plus I don't want to see Piper with that prick Michael." she added.

"Making you jealous? You've never liked anyone she ever went out with. I mean are you guys still friends even? You barely have any contact and weren't really talking either." Nicky said.

"I'm not jealous! I just know he doesn't deserve her." Alex answered defensively.

"Nobody she's ever been with was good enough in your opinion. Let her decide that!" Nicky exclaimed. Then she added wide eyed as if she just realized. "Oh my god. You have a crush on her! You like her! That's why you can't stand anyone she's dating."

"No. I don't. I don't have a crush and I don't like her. At least not like that!" Alex denied. "I just know she is way too good to be with the idiots she chose so far. We grew up together like sisters. I can just not not care, you know?!"

"Whatever you need to tell yourself…" Nicky mumbled but Alex understood her nonetheless.

"Shut up." she just returned.

"But whatever. You're going to that party with me." Nicky stated.

"No, I'm not. Didn't you listen at all?" Alex said annoyed.

"Yes you are. First of all my mom makes me go and I don't want to go so I need your support. Second you need some distraction." Nicky insisted.

"You can't make me." Alex said stubbornly.

"We'll see." Nicky just said.

XXXXX

"Oh what a gorgeous dress!" her mother exclaimed as Piper came down to be picked up by Michael for the school's fall party.

"Thanks mom." Piper replied. Good thing Michael was old enough to drive so he came to her parents and picked her up.

"You look beautiful Piper." he said as he saw her.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." she gave back.

"Let's go then!" he said and they got into the car.

When they arrived there was a lot going on already. Piper saw many of her classmates and others arriving or going in. She saw Polly already standing close to the front door literally just waiting for them to arrive.

"Hey guys." she greeted them.

"Hey Polly." Piper greeted back. They went in. Everything was decorated nicely. They had made a real effort to cover most walls with coloured leaves in the fall colours from yellow over orange to a darker red. It looked amazing.

"Wow. They really went all out." Piper stated.

"More than the last years?" Polly asked.

"I wouldn't know." was Piper's short answer.

"Why?" Polly wanted to know.

"I stayed at home." "Really?" "Yeah. Also my mom thought I wasn't old enough to go to a party like that."

That seemed to surprise Polly. When they were in the sports hall which functioned as the main dance floor Piper looked around and found many familiar faces. Classmates, Mary, Brooke, Brit and Sarah stood in a group not far from the entrance giving her mean looks and a few more people that she recognized. Further away on the other side of the hall she saw a head of frizzy hair and was that - no it couldn't be! It looked like Alex was at the party as well. Piper hadn't thought she'd see Alex here. She never seemed to like a party like that. And again it hurt Piper to notice that she obviously didn't know a few things about the person she'd have sworn to know the best.

Soon they had adjusted to the noise and general loudness and Michael asked Piper to dance. That was what actually filled the most of the evening - dancing. Every now and then they took a break and Michael was so nice to get the girls drinks - of course all of them were non-alcoholic.

Later Michael asked Piper if they wanted to go outside and get some fresh air to which Piper happily agreed. So they went outside to a rather secluded area where barely any other student happened to be.

"It's been a great evening, dancing with you and all that." Michael said and smiled at her.

"Yeah. It has been. I actually didn't really want to go at first. Polly convinced me. In hindsight it wasn't a bad decision to come here." Piper smiled. Michael closed the distance between them and kissed her.

XXXXX

She didn't expect it, but Alex indeed had some fun at the party. She and Nicky danced and had fun. It hadn't surprised her much to see Piper with Michael and her new friend Polly arriving a little bit after her and Nicky. She looked amazing and wore a dress that suited her perfectly. It took Alex a little by surprise when she noticed her own thoughts but she had to be honest. Piper looked good now that the last childlike characteristics had left her face and she had grown into a beautiful young teenager. Sure, she was still developing but Alex was sure she'd be a beautiful woman when she'd be older. She was already beautiful now.

It annoyed her a little when she saw Piper and Michael leaving after they had been dancing for a while. She told herself it didn't bother her. But honestly she didn't really want to think about what was probably going on.

"I'm going to go outside. I need a break and fresh air." she shouted over the loud music towards Nicky who was more or less in a conversation with a girl from her class. As far as you could have a conversation in this surrounding.

"You want me to come with you?" Nicky wanted to know.

"Nah. It's okay." Alex said and went outside. The fresh air felt heavenly. So much oxygen and it wasn't as hot as inside. She enjoyed it for a bit and decided to walk around to not get cold and stand there like an idiot. Shortly after she started her walk she also enjoyed the quietness and thought it was a really good idea to get out of the sports hall for a bit. That's when she heard a quiet sobbing not too far away. Was somebody crying around here somewhere? She started to walk towards where she thought the noise was coming from when she saw -

"Piper!" she recognized the blonde immediately. She was cowered close to the wall with tears running down her cheeks. When she heard her name being called Piper looked up and it seemed she was surprised but also glad to see her.

"Al-l-lex." she sobbed. Alex closed the distance to pick her up from the ground.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I-I, W-we c-c-ame out-t h-he-re t-to g-get f-fr-fresh air, a-an-and …" Piper sobbed.

"Shh. Try to calm down a little and whenever you are ready you tell me." Alex pulled her closer and hugged her. It seemed to calm her -former?- best friend and they stayed like that for a bit, Alex stroking down Piper's arm to get her to calm down so she could tell what happened. Piper slowly stopped crying and eventually started speaking.

"We came out to have some fresh air. And it felt so good compared to the sticky, used air and it wasn't so hot out here." Piper started. "And then we stood here and talked a little. And then he kissed me."

"And you wanted that or not?" Alex cautiously asked.

"I did. I mean it wasn't the first time. But then he, you know, wanted more. But I didn't. And he…" Piper started shaking a little and Alex noticed the tears coming back.

"Shh." she hugged Piper and tried to calm her. That's when she saw that part of Piper's dress was ripped. "What the… Piper please tell me that he didn't …" her voice broke.

Piper looked confused for a second but when she followed Alex's eyes that were still glued to the ripped part of her dress she immediately knew what had come to Alex's mind.

"No. No. No! I think that must've happened when I pushed him off me." she quickly assured her. "He didn't…. " she didn't go on.

"Thank god. I really want to hurt this fucking asshole though." Alex got angry now.

"Don't Alex. He's not worth the trouble. When I pushed him away he just called me a fucking tease and left." Piper said quietly but felt flattered that Alex suddenly got so protective of her.

"Okay. Come. I'll bring you home." Alex said, stood up and hold out a hand for Piper to help her up.

"Thank you." Piper took Alex's hand and got up. They started walking. Alex quickly send Nicky a text that she was leaving as she was bringing Piper home. They walked quietly for a while.

"A lot of things changed, huh?" Alex started.

"Yeah. How come we grew apart like this?" Piper chuckled and Alex was happy to hear it after the earlier sobs.

"Growing up I guess. Developing different interests, being in different classes, not having the same friends. Even though I think Nicky would still call you her friend. We just spent so little time together. Or better you with us." Alex said.

"That's quite a list but yeah, I guess. Can we go back though? I miss you. And Nicky. I miss having friends." Piper said almost sad.

"Sure we can. I would like that. I thought you are friends with that new girl now. Holly?" Alex asked.

"Polly actually. And yeah. But it's not the same." Piper chuckled at the nickname.

"By the way what happened with you and the collection of brats you used to hang out with?" Alex asked laughingly. It made Piper laugh too. She really missed this. The more she talked to Alex the more she realized how much she had in fact missed it, their easy communication, that they just understood each other without big explanations.

"Well, it took me quite long but I eventually found that they weren't nice people." Piper laughed.

"That's right. But what happened though, they were saying really mean things after you left the group about you. Like you were the worst enemy." Alex chuckled.

"Well they said a few mean things. And I might have insulted them just how they insulted others." Piper replied.

"That didn't stop you from being friends with them earlier. But beat them with their own weapons. Nice." Alex looked at her admiringly.

"Well before that one 'incident' I knew it wasn't right but I ignored it. But the time I really snapped they were insulting and saying mean things about you. I just couldn't take it anymore. That's why I told them the truth. That you are way nicer and a much better person than all four of them combined." Piper laughed at the memory but was also a little nervous how Alex would react to that.

"I.. That's…" Alex didn't know what to say. She was surprised by the blondes confession to say the least. "I guess I should say thank you my dear knight for defending my honour." she eventually said.

"You're welcome." Piper laughed at Alex's antics. Soon they arrived at Piper's house. The lights were out which meant that her family was probably asleep already.

"You want to come up?" Piper offered. "If you want you could stay over like old times."

"I would like that." Alex replied and they went to Piper's room.

They quickly got changed. Piper lent Alex clothes to sleep in and they quickly brushed their teeth and cuddled into Piper's bed.

"Thank you, Alex." Piper said quietly and sleepily.

"What for?" she asked surprised.

"For bringing me home. Listening to me and being there for me. For being my friend." Piper answered. Alex saw how her eyelids got heavier.

"There's nothing to thank me for. I'd gladly do that for you anytime." Alex replied. "Now sleep. Good night, Pipes."

"Good night Alex." she replied half sleeping and then she drifted off.

Alex looked at her friend lying next to her like that. She looked so cute and peaceful. Although she felt tired too she couldn't fall asleep yet. What she just noticed now and might have been there the whole evening was that tingly feeling in her stomach. When she looked over to Piper it intensified and she felt weirdly giddy. Alex's eyes went wide. No. She knew that feeling. Could Nicky be right? Did she have a crush on Piper? She couldn't. Piper wasn't into girls. 'That will lead to nothing but heartbreak.' Alex thought. This couldn't be happening. But the feeling was there and she couldn't really deny it. Alex kept thinking about it for a while but eventually fell asleep

Piper woke up first and smiled when she saw Alex sleeping next to her. She was happy they could go back to being friends.

"Good morning, Pipes. Stop staring at me. It's creepy." Alex said without even opening her eyes.

"Good morning. I wasn't actually…" Piper quickly replied but blushed anyway.

Just then as if timed both girl's stomachs were grumbling.

"Guess that means breakfast." Piper laughed and got up.

"Ugh. How do you get up so fast?" Alex asked a little grumpy.

"Well first I stretch and I sit up, move one leg out of the bed, then the other and the rest of the body follows somehow." Piper said trying to keep a straight face.

"Stop being cute." Alex said and cursed herself internally immediately.

'Did she just call me cute?' Piper thought surprised. "I'm not cute!" she exclaimed.

"Whatever." Alex just mumbled and slowly crawled out of bed.

They had breakfast and Alex went home after. Piper would have loved if she could have stayed longer but Alex had promised her mom to watch her little brother that day when she and Louis went to buy a few things and probably stayed out a bit longer.

Later that day Diane and Louis got back home. Alex and Felix were playing Looping Louie, Felix's favourite game, in the living room.

"Hey you two. How was your day?" Diane asked smiling widely.

"Great. We played so many different games." Felix said smiling widely. He had enjoyed the day with his big sister a lot.

"That sounds amazing." Louis said.

"Looks like we've raised ourselves the perfect babysitter." Diane said jokingly.

"Thanks ma!" Alex exclaimed in mock hurt.

"You know I'm joking. I love you, my baby." Diane said.

"Ugh, stop. I'm not your baby." Alex said.

"It doesn't matter how big you are, you always will be." Diane retorted.

"Not embarrassing at all, mom." Alex said and went to her room. Diane laughed.

A while later Diane knocked on Alex's door. "May your ever so embarrassing mother come in?" she asked.

"Sure." Alex shortly said.

"You okay honey?" Diane asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Alex replied.

"Don't be a smartass. Something has been on your mind. You are behaving differently today." Diane said. "Did something happen at the school party yesterday?"

"No. Yes. Ugh." Alex didn't really know what to say but eventually realized that it might be time to tell her mom about her liking girls. She slowly started telling her about how she had found Piper the day before. That was what was on her mind first at the moment and maybe she'd eventually collect all the courage she had to tell Diane the other thing on her mind.

"So I brought her home and we talked. It was nice talking to Piper again." Alex smiled.

"I can imagine. You missed her, didn't you?!" Diane asked.

"Yes. But now it's good." Alex said.

"That's great. I'm happy you got your friend back. I missed her too you know?" Diane said.

"Guess you'll see her more often again now." Alex chuckled.

"Yay." Diane laughed. "Dinner is ready soon when you want to join us." she said and got up to go to the living room.

"Wait. Mom." Alex quickly said before she pulled back and changed her mind about telling her mom. "There's something else I've been meaning to tell you."

"Yeah? What is it, hon? You know you can tell me anything." Diane said and looked at her daughter. Her eyes were filled with love and it assured Alex a lot. Still she was nervous as never before.

"I .. I like uhm, I like girls." she quickly said. And added. "I am gay." It was out. She finally just ripped that band aid off.

"Oh honey. That's nothing to be so nervous about. Although I can understand that you are. But it's okay. It doesn't matter. We love you. And If you told us that you like little green aliens then that would have been okay too." Diane laughed. "You're still my amazing, smart and kind daughter that I love more than I can describe. I can promise you your dad will tell you the same. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl you like as long as you're happy. I love you." Diane reassured her.

Alex felt like a stone fell from her heart. She had worried about that moment for quite some time now. But she was so relieved. "Thank you mom. I love you too"

"I'm glad you finally found the words to tell me." Diane said.

"Wait, what? You …" Alex was dumbfounded.

"I had a feeling. And I thought I was sure but I wanted you to come to me whenever you were ready. Don't forget I'm your mother. I know you like no one else."

"I don't know what to say." Alex replied.

"No need to. Do you want to tell your dad or should I?" Diane asked before leaving the room.

"I'll do it." Alex said.


	12. Chapter 12: Conversations

Chapter 12: Conversations

"Hey. That's not fair!" Alex exclaimed. She, Nicky and Piper were playing a board game and she had been kicked off the field again and had to start new.

"That's how the game works!" Piper defended her figure kicking out Alex's.

"Yeah, but somehow it's always me who has to start at the beginning. Never you or Nicky." Alex mockingly complained.

"Agh, get over it." Nicky replied. "You know what they say: tough luck in games means good luck in love. So maybe losing isn't a bad thing?!"

"Who are they? And we're not done yet. Maybe you'll lose?" Alex replied but Nicky just rolled her eyes.

They kept playing and eventually Nicky won, Alex came in second and Piper lost.

The three of them went down to the kitchen and made themselves a hot chocolate. They kept chatting and exchanged news. Alex and Piper were both fourteen now, or fourteen and a half to be exact, and Nicky had just turned thirteen about two months ago. For being a year younger than the other two Nicky was the most energetic and mouthy of the three. It could have been easily the other way around, that she was a year older than her friends but neither of them really cared about how old they were.

Nicky had noticed Alex's crush on Piper but held back in asking the black haired girl about it. She hoped she would tell her at some point. One afternoon a couple days later Alex finally addressed it.

"You were right, you know?!" she said, completely out of context.

"About what exactly?" Nicky was confused. Alex wasn't someone to admit easily that somebody had been right about something and she was wrong.

"About having a crush on Piper." Alex eventually admitted. "Actually I think it's a bit more than that."

"More than a crush?" Nicky asked. That surprised her. She hadn't thought this was more.

"I know, it's not a good 'idea'. But I can't change it." Alex replied.

"I really don't want to see her breaking your heart. And from what I've seen she's not into girls. Please be careful." Nicky warned.

"I know. That's why I said it's a bad idea. Even though it wasn't really an idea or decision really." Alex told her.

"You don't plan on doing something, do you?" Nicky asked.

"Like what? Tell Piper? Are you crazy? I'm not that willing to put myself in misery." Alex answered shocked.

"Good. Better you get your mind off her. This is not going to end well." Nicky predicted.

"I guess so." Alex said and went quiet. Sometimes she dreamt that Piper eventually noticed she liked Alex more than just as friend and they became a couple. Alex always woke up with a smile on her face after a dream like that. And then realized how unlikely it was to ever happen.

That evening Alex sat at the dinner table with her family and they were talking about how their day went and what happened. Alex was a bit absent minded cause she still thought about what to do about her crush on Piper.

"How about you, Alex? How was your day?" Louis asked after everyone had told and it got quiet.

"Huh?" she looked up. "It was okay. I met Nicky and we hung out a little."

"Everything okay, hon?" Diane asked looking a little worried.

"Yeah. Fine." Alex said. But she couldn't fool Diane who of course knew something was on her daughter's mind.

Later when Felix was in bed Alex found Diane sitting in the living room reading. Louis was still doing something in the kitchen. Alex just sat down with her book she had brought as a kind of pretext. She wanted to talk to her mom, but she also didn't want her to know she had a crush on Piper. The two sat there for a while until Diane put down her book and looked at Alex. Wordless she beckoned her over and opened her arms. Alex followed and soon found herself laying next to her mom embraced in a hug.

"What is worrying you, honey?" Diane asked after a little while.

"That I get my heart broken." Alex said.

"So there is someone you like, but you're worried she doesn't like you?" Diane asked further.

Alex reluctantly answered. "Uhm, yeah. I actually like her a lot. Sometimes I dream about her being my girlfriend and it makes me so happy. But she's only ever gone out with boys. So I don't think she'll ever like me like that." she told her mom, feeling tears rise up in the corners of her eye.

"Oh, sweety. I know this can be hard. And you don't think there is a chance she likes girls too? I mean there are people that like boys and girls." Diane said. She felt so sorry for her daughter, but she remembered her own teenager years and some unrequited crushes.

"I don't know. Maybe?! But how am I supposed to find out?" Alex wanted to know.

"Well, do you two already know each other? Or is she someone you just see in school or somewhere else regularly?" Diane wanted to know. Alex contemplated whether to tell her or not. She didn't want her mom to figure out it was Piper she was talking about.

"Well, we've been speaking with each other." just said not wanting to give her mom too many hints.

"Well you could, when there is a good situation, talk with her about liking girls or boys or something like that in general. Just to see how open she is about the whole concept of liking the same sex or both. Does she know you like girls?" Diane was curious.

"I actually don't know if she knows that." she quietly said. "But that's not a bad idea. Maybe I will do that."

Diane smiled at her reassuringly. "Think about it. And maybe that conversation will lead to unknown things. Who knows?!"

"Yeah. Who knows? Thanks, mom." Alex said sincerely and hugged Diane.

"Anytime. That's what moms are here for." Diane said. She loved the connection she and Alex had and it made her more than proud that Alex felt safe enough to come to her with things like that. She wished she could have been like that with her mother when she was a teenager, but her mother never was loving or open like that. Diane had promised herself to do it differently with her own daughter and loved that it obviously had worked out how she hoped it would.

It was lunch break about three weeks before christmas. Piper, Alex and Nicky were sitting in the cafeteria and chatted while eating their lunch.

"The christmas movie this year sounds interesting. Anyone interested to go see it?" Alex said hoping Piper would like to see it.

Nicky answered first. "I'm sure it's gonna be one of those cheesy romantic love stories that you already know the ending of when it just started. I'm gonna pass."

"Some do like those movies anyway, Nicky. It doesn't matter if you already know how the story goes. It's good for distraction and who doesn't like a happy ending?" Piper asked rhetorically. "So. Uh, yeah. I would like to go." she said to Alex.

"Great. Let me find out when they're showing it and I'll let you know." Alex said excitedly.

Nicky rolled her eyes. How was this a good idea?

The following Friday Alex and Piper went to the cinema after school to see the movie. While the movie was on Alex tried to completely focus on the movie but her attention was drawn away and she enjoyed observing Piper and her reactions. She tried not to stare at her or make it too obvious that she was looking at her but seeing Piper smile and laugh at some quite silly situations in the movie made her heart jump. She knew this whole thing could end very painfully for her because of the unlikelihood of Piper liking her back like that but she couldn't help but admire her friend she knew for so long.

After the movie ended they decided to take a walk through the park.

"It seems like you enjoyed the movie." Alex stated.

"Yeah, it was fun. I liked it. How about you?" Piper asked back.

"Yeah me too." Alex said. "Though I thought it was a little cheesy sometimes and as expected a little predictable. But good."

"Yeah, sometimes I wonder if it's a good thing, you know? That movies like that always end happy. The couple, with all struggles eventually makes it and are happily ever after!" Piper said dramatically.

"And have two kids that of course are way too cute and everything is perfect." Alex smiled.

"Right. Sometimes I think it could be a bit more realistic. But then I think, it might not be a bad thing. Like when you see the movie you can escape your imperfect life for a while and get lost in that seemingly perfect world. It's temporary. But a distraction." Piper explained.

"Yeah, but people shouldn't take it as 'normal' and think that's how their life should go." Alex said.

"True. But it's entertainment. I wouldn't want a life like this." Piper simply stated.

"No? Why?" Alex chuckled.

"Way too boring! I don't want to be able to predict what is coming." Piper answered. "Not that the movies are boring, but predictable."

"You want adventure then?" Alex laughed.

"Well I don't have to do extra crazy things like they show on that tv show, what's the name?" Piper tried to remember.

"I'm not sure which one you mean but I think I get what you want to say." Alex told her. "And yeah, I don't need that either. But I want some excitement in my life. Positive only of course."

"Me too." Piper replied. "As it is Christmas soon and we're knida in the season of wishes: What would you wish for to happen in your life?" she was curious.

'For you to be my girlfriend.' Alex thought but didn't say out loud. "Well uhm. I think I want a family some day. But like way in the future. Before that happens I want to learn and explore. I'd like to travel wherever I can and see something. But of course I wouldn't want to do that alone. It would be nice to share with someone. Traveling alone can be good too I guess but I think it's better to do with someone to share the experiences with."

"That sounds interesting and exciting. I could imagine doing that. Someone like a friend or girlfriend?" Piper asked. They had never talked about it, but Piper eventually thought it was time to do so.

"Well girlfriend would be nice." Alex smiled. "Wait - you … know." she suddenly noticed.

Piper chuckled. "Well there was a rumour that someone saw you with Stefanie Paulson someday. So… Plus I saw you two in the park one day. Holding hands and everything. I guess that made it kinda clear."

"Oh, okay. I didn't know that you knew. But I'm kinda glad." Alex said and felt weirdly nervous.

"It's okay. You love who you love, I guess. And I know you longer than anyone else and the fact that you like girls doesn't change how I see you." Piper told her.

"Nice to know." Alex chuckled. "So as we're on topic. You like boys only?!"

Piper laughed. "Well I don't know." she said rather seriously.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Alex asked surprisedly.

"Well, I know I've had boyfriends and so and I liked them, but I guess I was never really in love with them. But I also haven't had those feelings towards girls so… I don't know." Piper explained.

"Well that's okay. You'll figure it out one day." Alex assured her. 'Hopefully soon.' she thought.

"I hope so." Piper replied.

They kept talking and walking and eventually went home. Alex was happy about the time she spent with Piper and especially about their conversation as it made her a little hopeful that Piper hadn't said that she was only into boys. Of course Diane noticed her daughters happiness when she came home. She didn't ask her directly what had happened but trusted her daughter to tell her when she was ready. And Alex was in a good mood and excited that she just had to tell.

"Mom. We talked about what you said the other day. And she said, even though she had boyfriends before she wasn't really in love with them and that she doesn't know if she likes boys or girls or both and there might be a chance that she'll maybe like girls. And more especially me." it came out like a waterfall and Diane was taken by surprise a little by the amount as Alex wasn't usually one to ramble so much at once. She could though clearly hear the excitement in Alex's voice and saw the bright smile in her daughter's face.

"Slow down a little, honey. That's good. I'm proud of you for the courage to talk about something like this. It must have cost some braveness." Diane beamed.

"Yeah. But to be honest I wasn't the one who brought it up. We were talking about how we imagined our futures to be and P-" Alex was shocked to nearly giving it away but quickly recovered "she said I'd probably imagine it with a girlfriend." Alex chuckled. "She already knew. Like most of the school I guess."

"Like most of the school?" Diane asked surprised.

Alex blushed a little. "Well someone saw me and a girl and spread around that he saw us kissing."

"Wow. Spreading rumours around school? That's not nice." Diane said.

"Well he didn't actually lie." Alex said almost shy.

"Oh. Okay." Diane took in the news. "How has it been after that? How do you feel knowing that so many people know?"

"Well there have been a few kids saying weird or mean things, but I don't really care about them. There are always going to be mean people saying things about stuff they have no idea of. I don't know how I feel about it. I mean sometimes it's annoying but I'm kinda glad I don't have to run around like it's a big secret, you know?" Alex explained.

Diane turned to her daughter and hugged her. "I want you to know that I am so proud of you for staying true to yourself and not giving a shit about what those idiots say. I know it's not easy. I wish I was that strong when I was your age." Diane told her daughter.

"Thanks, mom." Alex said with a lump in her throat. She hadn't expected that reaction from her mother.

"You want to tell me about her?" Diane cautiously tried.

"Not yet." Alex just said and went to her room.

XXXXX

When Piper got home she quickly said hi to her parents and went up to her room. She had enjoyed the afternoon with Alex a lot and was secretly happy that Nicky hadn't gone with them. She had thought about it for a while when she first heard her old clique talk about the rumours about Alex and Stefanie and had eventually found that she didn't care whether her friend liked boys or girls. She was still the same smart and kind Alex she had always been. Also she had put more effort in finding out who she liked but hadn't figured it out yet. Just as she told Alex that day. She had really liked the boys she had gone out with and had fun spending time with them. But never had she had the feeling that she imagined having when one is in love or having a crush. Those butterflies that everyone talked about hadn't come to her yet. And that was the point. Yet. It could still happen. She wondered who it would be who would first be the reason for said butterflies to 'show up'. If she eventually came to to conclusion she liked girls it would be totally fine with her, she was just afraid what her parents would say about that. They weren't that open and she was scared they'd take it rather badly if she ever told them she liked girls. She found girls beautiful. That was for sure. And she could imagine going out with a girl just as she could imagine going out with a boy. But still she didn't come to a full conclusion.

The next weeks went by and it soon was Christmas. Both families celebrated a nice party and Piper and Alex had promised each other they'd see each other the day after Christmas. Alex had made a small gift for Piper and Piper had done the same. Piper came over to the Vause's house.

"Hey, Piper. Merry Christmas." Diane said when she let her in.

"Merry Christmas to you too." Piper replied with a big smile and gave her the small box of chocolates that her parents had given her as a small present for Diane and Louis.

"Well thank you, Piper." Diane smiled. "Alex is in her room. I think she is waiting for you there."

So Piper went to Alex's room and knocked.

"Yeah?" Alex shouted, seemingly busy.

"Do you mind?" Piper asked with a smile after she opened the door halfway.

"Piper? You're already here. Come in. I've been just tidying up a few things, Felix wanted to play with his new things and unfortunately spread them all over my room." Alex said.

"Oh. The excitement. I remember how excited I was when I got new toys. Totally relatable." Piper laughed.

"So. All done. Come sit. I've got something for you." Alex told her.

"Yeah, me too." Piper told her and got her present out of her bag.

"Merry Christmas." they both said almost in unison and had to laugh. They exchanged presents and intended to open them at the same time.

Piper found in hers a couple pages written in nice handwriting and first thought it was a letter. Soon she noticed that Alex had written a story and added little sketches and drawings to illustrate.

"Thank you, Al. You've written a story for me?" Piper was surprised.

"Yes, I did. Take your time reading it." Alex replied and looked at Piper and her reactions to the story.

Piper started reading until she realized which story it was. "Is this 'The tale of Pipsy and Amiri'?" her eyes went wide.

"Yes. I thought it would be nice to have a written version of it. If you want we can make little changes here and there. I'm not sure if I remembered everything completely." Alex admitted.

"Oh my god. This is so thoughtful. Thank you, Alex. Let me read to the end though." Piper returned her attention to the story. Pipsy and Amiri were characters they had made up when they were about seven. They had wild adventures in their fantasy world, experiencing literally anything that Piper and Alex could come up with. They two fictional characters obviously were based on Piper and Alex themselves and the two girls had had a lot of fun creating stories and adventures that Pipsy and Amiri could experience. Alex had taken the time to write down some of the stories they had come up with and had added little illustrations here and there.

"Now open yours! You haven't even looked at it!" Piper complained when she saw that the present she had given Alex was still unopened.

"Sorry, I wanted to see your reaction. But I'll open it now." Alex said and did just that. When she had torn off the wrapping she held a little purse in her hands.

"You said you keep losing coins from your old." Piper added. "My grandma taught me how to sew so I thought I make you a new one. It's not perfect, but I thought you might like the colours."

"I do. I love it. That's very thoughtful Pipes. Thank you." Alex beamed at her.

Piper loved Alex's smile. And she liked when she was the reason Alex smiled or laughed. It always made her happy. They spend the day talking and playing a new game Alex got for Christmas and enjoyed the day.

"Polly is throwing a New Year's party. And she invited me. I would like to go. Would you like to come with me? It would be cool if we could celebrate together this year." Piper asked Alex.

"I don't know Pipes." Alex said reluctantly. She wasn't a big fan of Piper's friend Polly.

"Why not? You could finally meet Polly. Please." Piper begged.

"I would like to celebrate New Year's with you, but I don't like Polly. She was supposed to be a friend and not let happen what happened at that school party." Alex explained her reluctance.

"Yes, she was. But she's also not my babysitter. Please give her a chance?" Piper tried to convince her.

"Okay. I'm coming, but don't expect me to like her after." Alex finally agreed.

"I don't expect that. I can't make you like someone you don't. All I'm asking for is to give her a chance." Piper said.

"I promise I will give her a chance. I won't guarantee the outcome." Alex chuckled.


	13. Chapter 13: New Year's Eve

Chapter 13: New Year's Eve

Alex had promised Piper to pick her up for the New Year's party at Polly's place but when she arrived Carol just send her up to Piper's room. Alex knocked on the door and went in after a short "Come in" from Piper.

"Hey Pipes. Are you ready?" Alex asked her. Piper was standing between the doors of her closet so Alex couldn't see much of her.

"Not yet. Would you believe me if I said I have no idea what to wear?" Piper asked and looked at Alex who only now noticed that Piper was standing in front of her in only her underwear. 'God, Alex, self-restraint.' she told herself when she felt the urge to go over to Piper and her mind went crazy.

"You do have a closet full of clothes. So I'm sure there is something that'll fit the occasion." Alex chuckled. "Let me help you." she said and looked into Piper's closet trying to get an overview. She picked out jeans and a sweater that she always found Piper very cute in. 'Let's dress that girl, that'll make this easier.' went through Alex's mind even though she'd prefer the opposite but that wasn't a choice at the moment.

"What do you say to that?" Alex asked.

Piper looked at it and smiled. "I like it. But don't you think a sweater is going to be a bit warm."

Alex threw a shirt towards her. "Then wear this underneath and when it gets too warm you can still take off the sweater."

"Great idea. Thank you." Piper said and started dressing. When she was done they went down, said goodbye to her mother joking they'd see her next year and left the house.

The New Year's party was good. For food and drinks everyone coming to the party contributed something. Some brought a salad, some brought chips and snack and others brought drinks. All in all they were well supplied with food and drink. They could eventually convince Nicky to come too. Alex was happy she could celebrate with both of her friends. But she also wanted to have a word with Polly. It had been a while since the party but Alex couldn't just let it go. Piper was her oldest and closest friend and, crush aside, the most important person to her. They went into Polly's house and went to the basement where the party was taking place. After they came in they quickly found Polly and said hi.

"Hey, Pol." Piper greeted.

Polly smiled when she saw her friend. "Hey, Piper. Glad you're finally here."

"Polly, I think you haven't met Alex yet. Polly- Alex, Alex- Polly." she introduced her friends.

"Nice to meet you." both said.

"I'm gonna put the salad on the table with the other stuff." Piper said.

""Of course." Polly said and was about to go with her when Alex stopped her.

"Hey. Wait a sec." Polly looked at her confused so Alex went on "I know it's been a while since the school's fall party. But you went there with Piper and if you want to stay friends with her I'm going to need you to look out better for her than you did that day. That shouldn't have happened."

"I am sorry what happened that evening. And I feel bad that I wasn't there but I'm also not her babysitter." Polly explained.

"Well, it's too late anyway. I just wanted you to know that you better do better." Alex replied and went to find Piper.

A while later also Nicky arrived along with a few other party guests and the group got bigger. Nicky, Alex and Piper sat in one of the couches in a corner of the room when someone turned on the music and after a while the first people started dancing.

"Well I'm going to go and get something to eat." Piper said as she got up.

"Yeah, me too." Alex joined her and looked at Nicky asking her with a questioning look on her face if she wanted something too.

"Let me join you." Nicky said.

After they got something to eat they sat back down and ate in silence. Somehow all three of them were quite comfortable with not having a conversation.

"Who feels like dancing?" Piper eventually asked after they had finished.

"Not yet. But I'll join you in a bit if you want to go already." Alex said.

"Okay." Piper smiled at her and left.

Alex scooted over closer to Nicky so they could talk. Nicky however started the conversation.

"So how is it going with you and Piper?" she put the finger on the topic Alex was about to bring up.

"Well nothing is going on. But I really wish she would feel the same. I know it's idiotic but I told you about our conversation. So there is hope." she explained though somehow feeling like an idiot for thinking she had a chance.

"I can totally understand that. But don't get your hopes up too high. There is a chance she'll figure out she likes girls. And that could mean she might like you and you too live happily ever after and I know this is all maybes and coulds because that's the point: it could also go the other direction and it's you who gets her heart broken." Nicky said. She felt sorry for her friend for having to go through this whole uncertainty.

"Urgh. I know. Earlier when I picked her up, she wasn't ready yet. She literally stood in her room in only her underwear. Like it's nothing. I know that we've known each other forever but gosh, I doubt she even thought for a second about what that could do to me. I mean she knows I'm into girls. But I bet that it could be weird for me didn't come to her mind." Alex told her friend trying to push back the pictures of a half naked Piper in her mind.

"She stood there half naked? Knowing you like girls?" Nicky was surprised.

"As I said, I don't think she made that connection at that moment. She seemed more desperate about what to wear." Alex replied.

"Woah. What did you do anyway?" Nicky chuckled. "You guys seem okay. So I guess you got some self restraint."

"Got her some clothes out of her closet. That made it a little easier. Plus, yeah I got to have that. I don't want to weird out Piper. I'm going to lose her if I act on it and she doesn't feel the same. Then it'll be just awkward and it'll all go downhill." Alex crunched her face at the thought.

"I'm there for you whenever you need to talk about it or just swear out how mad it makes you that a cute blonde doesn't like you that way." Nicky offered.

"Thank you." Alex was indeed thankful to have Nicky who understood her and who she could talk to about all this.

"Well I would advise you to keep some distance to help you keep your feelings in check, but I already know your answer to that." Nicky chuckled.

"Like that would ever work. Piper is my oldest friend. And along with you my closest. So not going to happen." Alex replied.

Alex got up to join Piper on the dancefloor. Nicky shook her head. The evening went on, everyone had fun and Piper, Alex and Nicky danced a lot. Five minutes before midnight the self announced dj turned the music down and said she'd play one more song and then it would be about time for the countdown. Everyone was excited and the atmosphere was loaded with gleeful anticipation. The song played and soon the countdown started.

"Ten - nine - eight - seven - six - five - four - three - two - one! Happy New Year!" everyone screamed and it got noisy with everyone talking at the same time.

People hugged and wished each other a happy new year and couples kissed and wished each other the same. Alex felt the urge to kiss Piper too, but knew all that was possible was a hug.

"Happy New Year, Al!" Piper said and smiled at her.

"Happy New Year Pipes." Alex returned.

The party went on. Alex and Piper danced for a while and sat down in a corner and talked.

"What do you want to happen this year?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. Many things. Having a girlfriend would be nice." Alex admitted.

"How should she be? I mean I don't even know what your type is." Piper realized.

'You.' Alex's mind screamed. But of course she didn't say that. "I don't know if I have a type."

"You have someone in mind already?! I can see it on your face! There is someone you like." Piper noticed wide eyed. Alex blushed. 'Should I tell her?' she contemplated. 'No. I can't. not until Piper figured out who she wants. If I tell her and she doesn't like me back like that I'll ruin our friendship.'

"I.. Uh.. Yeah… There is someone. But I don't want to tell." Alex answered.

"Why? Please, Al. I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything, I promise I won't say anything to anyone!" Piper was curious.

"Pipes, please don't. I'll tell you when I'm ready?!" Alex offered.

"Okay." Piper finally gave in but looked a little hurt.

"It's not because I don't trust you or I don't want to but it's… it's complicated." Alex explained.

"It's okay. I get it." Piper answered.

"What about you? Did you come any closer to figuring out what or better who you want?" Alex cautiously asked.

"I don't know. I mean I could imagine both. I am curious about how it is to be with a girl but I also like boys, so I guess putting a label on it would mean I am bisexual?!" Piper said. "But I am still waiting to you know find someone who makes me feel the butterflies I am missing out on so far."

"It's good that you got closer to know what you want and I am sure you will find someone." Alex said half happy and half said. She was glad for her best friend that she figured out that she liked both but from the sounds of it her hope of Piper maybe liking her was for nothing.

"Thank you." Piper said and yawned. "Woah. What time is it?"

"About 2:30" Alex answered.

"Wow. I, uhm am kinda tired. I think this party ends for me here. I wanna go home. Do you want to come with me, or do you want to stay?" Piper asked.

"Nah, I think I'll go home with you." Alex decided quickly. She had enjoyed the party but without Piper it would be boring anyway. "Let's go find Nicky and say goodbye if she wants to stay."

"Good idea." Piper replied. They found her - of course - talking to some hot girl close to the table where all the food was set up. She didn't want to end the conversation so Piper and Alex said goodbye and turned to leave when Piper said she wanted to say goodbye to Polly too. They went both looking for her but somehow couldn't find her.

"She wouldn't leave her own party early, would she?" Alex asked.

"I didn't think so. I'll just text her and maybe she'll tell me when we next see each other." Piper replied and got her phone out to text her friend.

They walked to the Chapman's house mostly silent. They were both pretty exhausted and tired. When they arrived Alex was about to say goodbye to Piper to go home but Piper asked her if she'd like to stay over, then she wouldn't have to walk home.

"It's not that far, Pipes. I think I can handle." Alex chuckled.

"Yeah. But if you stayed here you wouldn't have to walk further and just fall into bed." she tried to convince her. Alex was tempted. She would love to sleep next to Piper but knew it'd be hard.

"That's true. Urgh. Okay." Alex eventually agreed.

"Yay." Piper was excited. Alex was a bit surprised and wondered where that sudden excitement came from, after all staying over wasn't really a big deal, they did that all the time.

They went to Piper's room and quickly got changed. Alex remembered to send her mom a quick text that she'd sleep at Piper's place so that she could read in the morning and not be worried when she couldn't find her. They quickly got changed and jumped into Piper's bed.

"I really enjoyed the party. And I loved dancing with you. Thanks for agreeing to come. Good Night, Al." Piper said her eyes slowly closing. She was overwhelmed by tiredness and could barely keep herself awake to even say goodnight.

"Night, Pipes. I really enjoyed that party too. I enjoy all the things that we do together." Alex replied but Piper was already out like a light. 'How can someone be so beautiful and cute at the same time?' Alex thought looking at her sleeping friend. Eventually she fell asleep too.

The next morning Piper woke first. She took a moment to open her eyes while she enjoyed the moments of being warm and cozy in her bed with an arm across her side - wait! - arm? She suddenly remembered that she had persuaded Alex to stay over. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Alex laying in front of her sleeping soundly and half hugging her in her sleep. She had to admit she felt good laying like this. She looked at her friend sleeping so close to her so peacefully. Alex was a beautiful girl. It's not like she didn't notice that before but this time it was like she really saw it for the first time. 'Any girl that's going to end up with her will be a very lucky and happy girl.' Piper thought but then felt a weird feeling in her stomach. Where did that come from? She again tried to imagine Alex with a girl again and the feeling returned. A weird feeling that made her feel sick somehow. Polly's parents had checked regularly that the mostly around fourteen year old party guests didn't have any alcohol so nobody drank anything like that, so Piper couldn't pin it on drinking something. Not that she ever had drunk more than a gulp of anything alcoholic anyway. Was that jealousy? Why was she getting jealous when she imagined Alex with someone? She tried to imagine herself with Alex and the feeling changed and became more excited and were that - no - it couldn't be. Those weren't the butterflies in her stomach she was waiting for. This was Alex. Her oldest and closest friend. No way. She tried to quickly focus on something else. What was she doing this year? Alex and she would turn fifteen this year. Piper wanted to finally join the track team. She always enjoyed when they would do that during their PE lessons so she figured she might try it.

"Good morning, Pipes." Alex said her voice hoarse from the sleep and got her out of her thoughts pretty quick. "What are you thinking about?"

"Good Morning, Al. I was thinking about joining the track team this year finally." Piper quickly answered.

"Isn't a bit early for starting your New Year's resolutions now?" Alex chuckled. Piper tried to ignore the tickling feeling. Since when was it there anyway? She didn't just develop a crush at Alex overnight. Wait - crush? No. She didn't have a crush. 'This is your best friend, for goodness' sake.' Piper urged herself.

"It's never too early." she just returned and slowly got up. "But I'm hungry. I'm gonna go and make something to eat. Join me, whenever you're ready." she told Alex.

So Piper went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her and Alex. Soon Alex joined her.

"Did you sleep well?" Piper asked to break the silence.

"Pretty well, actually. You?" Alex asked back

"Me too. But obviously we're the first people up this morning. I guess everyone else is still sleeping." Piper said.

"Yeah, seems like it." Alex replied. "What are you making?"

"Eggs with bacon and toast was my idea." Piper told her.

"Sound great. How about I get something to drink. What do you want?" Alex offered.

"Uhm, I can't decide. Okay. I'll go for a tea now and maybe hot chocolate later." Piper answered.

"Okay. Then let's start with the tea. The strawberry one?" Alex walked up to the cupboards. She had been at the Chapman's house often enough to know where things were.

"You know me so well." Piper smiled.

"Great. So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Alex wanted to know.

"Nothing actually. No idea. Watch a movie? Start a new series? Read? Basically something that contains chilling on the couch or my bed for most of the day." Piper replied.

"Sounds relaxed." Alex said.

They made their breakfast and ate. They didn't say that much but that was the good thing about being with each other: they understood each other without words and it wasn't awkward if they were silent and no one was talking. Alex joined Piper and they spent the day reading and watching movies.

A couple days later Polly and Piper sat in the cafeteria. Piper had wanted Nicky and Alex with them at the table but Alex had to stay home due to a cold and Nicky sat somewhere with the girl she had talked New Year's Eve with. So it was just her and Polly.

"So. New year new luck. I actually met this really cute guy at the party, Scott. And we've been talking for most of the night. Oh my god. You got to meet him, he is amazing." Polly gloated.

"Is that why we couldn't find you to say goodbye when we left?" Piper asked incredulously.

"I guess. When did you leave? And we?" Polly wanted to know.

"About 2:30. Me and Alex." Piper explained.

"She's a bit weird, you know that?" Polly started.

"What? Why do you say that? What should be weird about her?" Piper said, not sure where her temper came from right that moment.

"Woah. I don't know. I just get a weird feeling in her presence." Polly answered surprised by Piper's sudden outbreak.

"That's not a valid reason. But you'll have to get along with whatever feeling that is because I'm not going to split my time between you so you two don't have to do anything together. If you want to hang out with me you need to be okay with the fact that Alex might be there too." Piper told her her voice making clear this was not something that can be discussed.

"Okay, Okay. What is it about you two anyway. When we met you two barely spoke with each other and now all of a sudden you're putting her above everyone else?" Polly asked curiously. They hadn't talked about that much.

"Alex is my best and closest friend. Has always been. We grew up together. We met the first time the day I was born and grew up like sisters after. We used to do everything together. Some time when I was younger I was convinced she was my twin sister. We always celebrated our birthdays together cause we are just two weeks apart. But when we started at this school we weren't in the same class anymore and even though we didn't want it we kinda drifted apart. You know, making different friends, developing different interests and so on. But after all she is the person who knows me best and is the most important person in my life. So if you should ever have the stupid idea to ask me to choose one of you because you don't like her, I can tell you: don't. You probably noticed by that talk who's gonna win this decision easily. That doesn't mean I don't want you as a friend and we can't be good friends or anything, but you need to be okay with Alex being there." Piper explained.

"Okay. I get it. I'll do my best to get along with her." Polly said. "Anyway. Back to topic. I think Scott likes me too. It could be that I got a boyfriend soon." Polly told her excitedly.

"Great. I am happy for you. Seems like the year starts good for you." Piper smiled at her friend.

"Yes, it does. But it's about time we find you one!" Polly said enthusiastically.

"Ah, I don't know if that's what I want right now." Piper answered. It had been a couple days since Alex had stayed over and Piper still hadn't figured anything out yet.

"What? Why? Uuh. Do you have someone already? Tell me!" Polly was excited.

"No. I don't have an eye on anyone. But I kinda enjoy things the way they are at the moment." Piper said evasively.

"Really? Well however you please. Tell me if anything changes, I actually know a few guys that you might like." Polly offered.

"Thanks, I guess. I'll let you know." Piper answered.

The next weeks actually were pretty uneventful. Polly did go on dates with Scott and they soon became a couple, Polly kept asking Piper if she was sure about staying single right now, Alex contemplated whether it was a good idea to go out with any girl just to possibly get over her crush on Piper but couldn't get herself to actually do it, and Piper still couldn't figure out what exactly it was she felt towards Alex, so she did what her mother had been a good role model for: she ignored it, knowing it wasn't the best option but didn't know what else to do.


	14. Chapter 14: Movie nights

Chapter 14: Movie nights

It was a couple weeks until the school's spring party. The second big event that happened every school year after the fall party. Just as the fall party Piper didn't really want to go to the party, especially now that she didn't have anyone to go with. Polly went with Scott and Piper had no intentions of being the third wheel.

"Piper, please come to the party. Last time you did enjoy most of it, didn't you?" Polly begged her friend.

"Don't you talk about last time. I was happy Alex was there to help me. And no. I'm not going to be the third wheel on your bicycle." Piper replied.

"You could go with Alex and Nicky." Polly suggested.

"Well Nicky surprisingly got a girlfriend, so I guess she's going with, I think Lorna is her name. It's all pretty new. I haven't met her yet. And I could go with Alex but last time Nicky made her go. So I guess she doesn't want to go there same as I. We could do a movie night or something instead." Piper rather said the last thought to herself.

"Boring!" Polly exclaimed. "You can do that any other night. The party would be your chance to maybe find a boyfriend if you're open to that again?!"

"I think I'm gonna pass." Piper replied. They went back to the classroom as their next lesson started in a couple minutes.

Piper had eventually admitted to herself that she had a crush on her best friend. At some point she couldn't ignore it anymore as every time she and Alex did something together she was very excited and a bit nervous and the butterflies she had felt had grown stronger ever since she first noticed them. She though didn't want to mess up her friendship with Alex. What if Alex didn't like her like that? 'Goodness. A girl like Alex could have anyone she wanted to. Why should she want me?' Piper often thought. Plus, she was convinced Alex would call her crazy if she would ever have the courage to tell her. They'd been friends forever and now out of nowhere Piper would come to her with something like this? Piper already saw the embarrassment coming towards her.

"Alex!" Piper called her as she saw her friend and crush on the school yard.

"Piper, hey!" Alex answered smiling widely as soon as she saw her. The butterflies in Piper's stomach went crazy.

"Hey. How do you think about movie night tonight at my place?" she asked.

"Sounds great." Alex replied. "See you tonight? I gotta head home quickly, mom got an appointment and I'm supposed to pick up Felix and watch him while she is out. But she should be back by five thirty or so…"

"That's okay. Text me when you are coming over?!" Piper asked.

"Of course. See you then!" Alex shouted nearly out of hearing distance already.

Piper was excited. When she got home she checked if they still had some popcorn and chips or if she needed to buy some. Her mother entered the kitchen.

"Hi, Piper. How was your day?" she asked. It surprised Piper a little. Her mother barely asked that.

"Good. Is it okay if Alex comes over tonight and we have a movie night?" she quickly asked.

"The Thompsons are coming over tonight for dinner. I don't think it's a good idea to do a movie night tonight." Carol answered.

"Oh, okay. Do I need to be there?" Piper asked cautiously. She always hated those dinners when a couple from the country club came over for dinner. Those evenings were so boring.

"I'm not going to force you to come. If you don't want to you don't have to." Carol said.

"Thank you. Would it be okay then if I went to Alex and we did the movie night at her place if that's okay with the Vauses?" Piper wanted to know.

"Sure." Carol told her as she left the room.

Piper quickly texted Alex to see if they could change plans.

[Piper: Hey. Mom has friends from the country club over tonight. Can we do the movie night at your place?]

It didn't take long for Alex to answer.

[Alex: Sure.]

[Piper: When should I come over?]

[Alex: Whenever you're ready. Now if you want to? Babysit my brother with me?! :-)]

[Piper: Okay. Be there in couple minutes.]

Piper quickly packed a few things including the popcorn and chips. Couple minutes later she rung at the Vauses door and Felix opened excitedly.

"Hi Felix." Piper greeted him.

"Alex, it's Piper!" he screamed without even greeting back.

"I thought so. Man, you're fast, Felix." Alex said. "He was literally running to the door to be first." she chuckled. "Come in."

"What are you two doing?" Piper walked in, hung her jacket onto the wardrobe, took her shoes off and sat down on the couch as Alex motioned her to do.

"We were playing Uno." Felix answered excitedly.

"Cool. Can I play?" Piper asked him.

"Sure. But don't be sad if I win." he replied and started dealing the cards.

"I try not to be." Piper giggled.

"He's right though, he's wickedly good at this game." Alex said seriously.

"Oh okay." Piper replied with a more serious note in her voice.

They played for a while and it was true, somehow Felix was always the lucky winner of several rounds, only once beaten by Piper who was lucky enough to have a few wishing cards and draw 2s. Then they heard the door open and Diane came back home.

"Mooomm." Felix shouted running towards her.

"Hey sweetie." she picked him up and hugged him. "Did you have a good afternoon?"

"Yes. I won at Uno. But Piper won too. But only once." he answered excitedly.

"Piper is here? Hi girls." Diane greeted Piper and Alex who were still sitting on the couch.

"Hi Diane." "Hi mom. I told you earlier that we wanted to do a movie night today. Can we do it here? Carol has friends over and didn't want us to do it at their house." Alex quickly asked.

"Sure. Why not?" Diane answered.

"Thanks." Both girls smiled widely. They went to Alex's room to decide which movie to watch. It took them a while to decide. When they came back to the living room Diane had been so nice and set up the couch already with pillows and some blankets and put some snacks on the little table by the couch.

"Thank you, mom." Alex told her sincerely seeing everything ready already.

They got ready on the couch and started the first movie. Alex had chosen a thriller she liked. Piper had agreed under the condition they watched her movie of choice after which was less intense and rather funny as Piper had chosen a romcom. While watching it Piper had to admit that the movie was exciting and drew all her attention to the plot but sometimes she also got a little scared. Neither girls noticed how they got closer until they sat really close. Even though both girls enjoyed this closeness neither would have really admitted it out loud. What they also didn't notice was Diane watching the scene on the couch from afar. She had thought about who that crush could be that her daughter had talked about couple weeks or rather months ago but didn't ask her again, trusting her daughter to come speak to her whenever she was ready. But now that she saw the two of them on the couch together she tried to remember the last couple of weeks. Then she suddenly realized and wondered how she had missed it until now. After Piper and Alex first got back into contact they had seen each other what seems more and more often and every time Alex got more excited to see her friend. She talked quite often about what she and Piper did. Diane had noticed some ups and downs in her daughter's mood but ever since they had the conversation about Alex talking to her crush about liking girls the topic hadn't been brought up again. Now she was pretty sure it was Piper Alex had been talking about and hoped that this wouldn't end in Alex getting her heart broken. Diane wasn't surprised though that Alex didn't want to tell her who it was, after all she and Piper were always close and the way they grew up together nobody expected one of them to have feelings like that. Diane smiled a little and left the two to watch their movies.

Piper eventually found herself cuddled into Alex's side at the end of the movie. Piper liked it, a lot to be honest. She hoped Alex not scooting away but staying close meant she liked it too. But that could also be because they were such close friends. Piper really wanted to know if there is a possibility that Alex liked her like that or if her feelings towards Piper were just friendly but she didn't have the courage to say something. It would probably ruin their friendship. And she didn't want to loose Alex. Alex on the other side really liked the feeling of Piper cuddling into her. But she, too, didn't dare to say anything to Piper or act on her feelings, scared that she might break her connection with Piper.

"Did you like the movie?" Alex asked.

"It was unexpectedly good to be honest. I mean here and there I got scared a little but that story was full of twists and I had no idea what was coming." Piper explained.

"Yeah, that's what I like about that movie. You don't foresee what's going to happen next." Alex agreed.

"Well compared to this the next movie is going to be soooo predictable." Piper laughed which made Alex's heart jump. If she only could tell her.

The second movie was funnier and they both laughed a lot. Alex looked at Piper as to see her reactions. She soon stopped though, because every time she saw Piper laugh next to her she felt the strong desire to just pull her down and kiss her. Instead she tried to concentrate on the movie. After it ended they still lay there and started talking. First a little bit about the movie but they soon changed the topic.

"The school's spring party is in two weeks. Do you plan to go?" Alex wanted to know.

"I'm actually not sure. I didn't want to go to the fall party but then Polly convinced me. I mean I enjoyed most of it, but I'm not sure if I want to go to this one. I don't want to be Polly's and Scott's third wheel and Nicky is probably going there with Lorna. What about you?" Piper asked back.

"I know last time Nicky kinda made me go, but I had fun. And I actually wanted to go. It would however be more fun if you'd come too." Alex hopefully said.

"Mhm. Maybe I'll change my mind then. I'd like to go with you. To the ball, I mean." Piper said a little too excited.

"Great." Alex smiled. She had to suppress a yawn as it had gotten pretty late. She got up and told Piper after a questioning look from her friend what time it was and that she'd go to bed now before she fell asleep on the couch.

"I am pretty tir…" Piper got interrupted by her phone ringing.

"Hello?" she answered. "Yes, I am still here." "I don't get that. Why?" "Why can't you tell me now?" "What if I don't want to?" "Yeah but you can explain that tomorrow too?" "Ugh. Fine. Bye." she didn't look happy after she ended the call.

"That was my mother." she explained. "She wants me to come home and not stay over. I have no idea why and she won't explain that to me right now. I would love to stay but whatever it is she won't let me. So I'm sorry, but I'll have to go home." the annoyance was clearly audible in her voice.

"Oh okay." Alex was a little disappointed. "Another time then."

They said goodbye both a bit sad about the fact that Piper had to leave. When Piper got home she found her mother in the kitchen. Her guests had obviously left already.

"Why, mom? Why did you make me come home?" Piper wanted to know.

"The Thompson's told me something that was completely new to me today. They said their son, who goes to the same school as you two go to, said that Alex liked girls. That she was gay." Carol said as if it was an obvious reason.

"And? That's the reason you made me come home?" Piper asked flabbergasted. "And you believe everything that a fourteen year old tells his parents about possible school rumours?"

"Did you not hear what I just said? I don't want you around someone like this." Carol said ignoring Pipers objection completely. "Did you know she was gay?" she spat out the last word as if it was an insult.

"Yes, I knew. Someone like this? For goodness sake, you know her for all her life. You know what a great person she is. And then that one little thing makes you speak about her like this? I can't believe you. And why shouldn't I spend time with her? Are you scared she'll turn me gay?" Piper stopped herself. She didn't want to say something stupid or mean in her anger.

"I can't tolerate this. I don't want you to spend more time with her. That's not a good influence on you." Carol said.

"No. I was always a good daughter, as far as I can remember and did almost everything you ever asked of me. But I won't accept that. Alex is my best friend. She is the one who knows me better than anyone else. I think I am old enough to get to decide who I spend time with and who not." Piper said.

"Piper Elizabeth Chapman! I warn you. This is not the time to be stubborn." her mother said angrily.

"I'm not stubborn. I'm just not accepting that you expect me not to see my best friend anymore just because she loves girls. What if I told you I liked girls?! Would you kick me out and insult me too?" Piper was furious. "Goodnight mother." she said to end the conversation before she did something stupid and went up to her room. Carol stood there a little speechless. She decided talk to Piper later when she had calmed down a little.

The next days when Piper and Alex saw each other in school Alex noticed that something was bothering Piper but even if she asked her, Piper only replied that everything was fine and it didn't matter. The next week went by quickly and it was about five days before the school party. Piper really needed someone to talk to about the whole Alex situation but knew that Polly wasn't the right person for that. Even though Nicky was friends with Alex she was the better choice, plus she also liked girls. Maybe she could somehow help her. She asked her friend if they could meet for a drink at the diner and that she needed to talk to her. Piper was there first and sat there waiting for Nicky.

"What did you want to talk about?" Nicky asked sitting down and taking Piper by surprise a little.

"God, Nicky. Don't scare me like that. Well, hello to you too. It's actually a bit complicated and I'm not sure where to start." Piper started.

"At the beginning?" Nicky joked.

"Very funny, smartass. Can I ask you something?" Piper appeared a little insecure all of a sudden.

"You just did. But sure. Anything." Nicky answered eventually turning more serious.

"How did you notice you were into girls?" Piper wanted to know.

"Oh. I wasn't expecting that question. Well. Before I knew it I had a crush on this really cute girl in one of the clubs my mom made me go to and the thought of ever going out with a guy totally freaks me the hell out. So it was kinda clear." Nicky answered. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, you know I've had boyfriends, but I was never really in love or anything. No butterflies, no tingles, nothing. It was more for show, because my clique back then all had a boyfriend, I guess?!" she started. Nicky silently waited for her to go on. "And now I've got all those feelings that were missing earlier and I think I got a crush. Or maybe more. And it's a girl." she rambled.

"Woah. That's totally fine. I'm happy for you. Who is the lucky lady?" Nicky was curious.

"That's the actual point where it gets complicated." Piper started. "Will you promise me not to tell anyone?"

"That serious, huh? I promise. Your secret is safe with me." Nicky held up her hand acting like she was swearing on something.

"Stop being silly. It's, uhm, it's Alex actually. And the problem is, we've been friend forever and we grew up like sisters. She is one of the most important people in my life. I don't want to loose her by making things awkward because I tell her and she doesn't like me like that and then I lost her and …" Piper couldn't stop rambling.

"Shh. Slow down, Piper." Nicky was close to speechless. Piper had a crush on Alex who had had a crush on Piper for way too long now. And they both didn't dare telling the other one. Well this could be solved more or less easily. But Nicky wasn't the person to tell either one of them that the other liked her. They had to do that themselves. "Maybe there is a possibility she likes you?" she tried.

"Why? I mean she's gorgeous. She could have any girl she wanted to." Piper said.

"Why shouldn't that one girl be you?" Nick asked back and Piper's eyes went wide.

"Did she say something like that? Does she...?" her mind went crazy.

'Fuck. I can't just tell her.' Nicky swore to herself. "Piper. You two need to figure that out. I'm not the one to tell anyone else if someone likes her or not."

"But what if she doesn't?" Piper asked.

"That's the risk." Nicky said.

"But do you know anything?" Piper pushed her.

Nicky stayed silent.

"You're not going to say anything, are you?" Piper concluded.

"That's right." Nicky just replied. "Look, I would love to keep chatting with you, but I have a date with Lorna soon, gotta get ready."

"That's okay. Good luck with your date and introduce her to us?!" Piper said as they parted.

"You'll meet her at the ball. I hope you're coming?" Nicky stopped and asked.

"Yes. I'm going with Alex." Piper replied.

"Well, then you have the perfect day to tell her about your feelings." Nicky told her.

"Ahh, I don't know." Piper shivered at the thought. This could go so wrong.

"Think about it." Nicky said and turned around to leave.

"I will." Piper shouted after her and went home.

The situation with her mother hadn't improved. She still insisted that Piper didn't see Alex anymore. Even though Piper had yelled at her mother what she'd do if she told her she liked girls she didn't bring the topic up again after their first fight the night Carol had made Piper come home from the movie night. She was scared of her mother's reaction. When Piper got home she heard two people fighting loudly in the kitchen. She slowly walked there trying not to be seen but wanting to know who was fighting about what. Soon she heard the voices more clearly recognizing her mother and Diane who were obviously fighting over her mother's non-acceptance of gay people.

"This is not changing my mind!" Carol shouted.

"Oh my god. I cannot believe how I was so wrong in you for so so many years. I can't believe you say such things and are homophobic like this. But you know what? I feel sorry for you. That you are blinded by something so ugly and not being able to see that only the happiness of our kids counts and it doesn't matter who they love, which they didn't choose in the first place. Nobody chooses that. The heart wants who it wants. It doesn't matter as long as it makes them happy. I'm even more sorry for Piper for having a mother that can't accept if a child or teenager is a bit different from the rest. She's such a great kid. And that beside the fact that her mother says things like you just did. I couldn't be more proud of my daughter for finding her own way, standing up for herself and not live by what other people think. And I can see that in Piper too. She's such a strong girl making her own way. Don't ruin that by talking anything like that to her. Or Danny or Cal. They don't deserve that." Diane threw at her clearly very angry. She left the kitchen and Piper couldn't flee soon enough and Diane ran into her.

"Hi, Diane." Piper said a little insecure.

"Hi, Piper. God, how much of this did you hear?" Diane looked surprised but Piper could see tears in her eyes.

"Uh, the first thing was that mom said this wouldn't change her mind." Piper replied honestly.

"Oh. I'm sorry you had to hear all this." Diane apologized. "But I want you to know that you can come to me if anything should bother you and you can't tell your mother. I'm there for you. You're my secret second daughter." she offered.

"Thank you Diane. I will." Piper said now with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry to leave you with a mad mother. But I can't stay, I can't look at her right now." Diane said as she turned.

"It's okay. I'm used to it by now. She's been mad at me for the last week and a half. She told me to not see Alex again and I didn't listen. So, I guess she's gonna be angry at me for a while until she realizes I'm never gonna let her stop me from seeing Alex." Piper told her.

"You're a brave young woman, Piper. It makes me proud to see you so strong. I'm sorry though this has caused you so much trouble." Diane said apologetically.

"It's nobody's fault. My mother is the one who is wrong. I hope though she will understand someday." Piper said not giving up hope so fast.

"I hope so too." Diane replied. "See you, Piper."

"Bye." Piper said as Diane walked out the door. Piper was upset that her mother would say mean things to her best friend about her daughter. It wasn't fair. Piper quickly texted Alex.

[Piper: Hey. I hope you're home. Can you make your mom something to comfort her? She left here pretty upset. She had a bad fight with Carol.]

[Alex: About what? :-0 I will. Since when do you call your mother Carol though?]

[Piper: It's not up to me to tell. Since she started being an idiot.]

[Alex: Woah. What happened?]

Piper didn't want to tell her. Hopefully Diane would?! So she waited and didn't text back.

[Alex: Please. My mom won't tell me! I want to know what's going on!]

[Piper: Okay. But not like this. Later in person.]

[Alex: I guess that's going to be the ball. I'm pretty busy the next days to be honest.]

[Piper: That's okay. I'll pick you up?]

[Alex: If you want to. I could also come to you?!]

[Piper: I will do that. You picked me up last time. My turn.]

[Alex: Okay. I'm looking forward to it.]

[Piper: Me too.]

Just four days left until the spring ball. Piper had chosen the perfect dress already and couldn't wait to go to the party with Alex. Even her mother's ragings couldn't mess that up for her.

_** Hey everyone. I know you all hoped they'd finally get together and I can promise you it's going to happen soon. This will probably be the last update until some time after New Year's as I will be pretty busy over the holidays and a friend from the US is coming to visit me just before New Year's as she's travelling Europe. Please let me know how you liked that chapter and maybe someone has some inspiration what the two of them will do once they get together?! Let me know. Thanks for the reviews so far._


	15. Chapter 15: Confessions

_Happy New Year everyone. Time to celebrate! Here is the next chapter._

Chapter 15: Confessions

Finally the day arrived and it was time for the spring party. Piper took her time to get ready. She got in her dress and put a little bit of makeup on. She didn't want to do too much as she barely ever wore any and she didn't want to overdo it. When she was done she looked in the mirror and was quite satisfied with her work. It was about time to leave to pick up Alex. Luckily they had everything in walking distance so she wasn't dependent on her parents or anyone else driving them. She could have asked Danny who was currently home for spring break as he was in college now and not living at home anymore but she didn't really want to involve him so she walked to the Vauses and she and Alex would walk to their school together. She arrived at the Vauses and rung. It was Diane who opened.

"Hi Piper. Woah. Great dress. You look beautiful, darling." she greeted her with a big smile.

"Thank you. Is Alex ready?" she asked. She couldn't wait to see her.

"I think in a minute." Diane smiled. "Come on in." she loved the fact that Piper didn't give in to her mother asking her to stay away. She wondered if there was more going on between the two of them than she knew. She knew about her daughters feelings for her friend but didn't know where Piper stood. But she hoped if there was something they wanted to tell her they'd come to her. She wouldn't push anyone.

"Alex, Piper is here." she shouted to let her know.

"I'll be there in a minute." the answer came back quite soon.

Piper didn't have to wait long for Alex to come out of her room. Piper's eyes went wide and her breath was taken away when she saw Alex walking towards her. She looked amazing. She smiled at her, at least she tried, she was completely enamored by Alex's appearance. Diane silently watched the interaction and was sure there was something.

"Hi." Piper said breathlessly. Had she been holding her breath without noticing?

"Hi." Alex said and chuckled. "You look beautiful, Piper." she managed to say. She too was taken aback by her friend's beauty.

"Y-You t-too." Piper stammered and blushed.

'God those two are cute.' Diane smiled secretly watching the two girls unobtrusively.

"Ready?" Alex asked.

"Definitely." Piper said trying to escape the situation.

"Bye, Diane." "Bye, mom." they said while leaving.

"Bye. Have fun girls!" Diane shouted after them and got a loud unisono "Thanks." back and heard the girls giggle.

"Please tell me what happened the other day?!" Alex begged as they were walking towards the school.

"Can we do that later?" Piper asked. "I don't want to ruin the evening."

"We won't let that happen. But I couldn't think about anything else the last couple of days." Alex didn't let go.

"Really? Ugh I don't know." Piper said reluctantly. Then they heard their names from behind and saw Nicky coming towards them. Somehow Piper was pretty relieved that Nicky interrupted the conversation.

"Hey Nicky." they greeted her.

"Hey guys. Before we're there, let me introduce you. Alex, Piper this is my girlfriend, Lorna. Lorna those are my two best friends Alex and Piper." she pointed to everyone making the introduction.

"Hello Lorna, it's nice to meet you." Alex said and held out her hand.

"Same. Nicky talks about you two all the time." the shorter brunette said.

"Hi Lorna. It's nice to finally have a face to the person she can't stop talking about." Piper replied.

"Nice to meet you too." she agreed.

"Chapman watch your tongue or I might say a few words who you can't shut up talking about." Nicky warned. Piper shot her daggers with her eyes.

Alex looked at her surprised. She had no idea there was someone Piper liked. "What?" she asked incredulously.

"What are you talking about? Nicky is just joking." 'shut up.' she mouthed to Nicky.

"Ah, right, jokes are my area of expertise, you see." Nicky added.

"Shall we go in?" Lorna asked to break the weird tension. They had arrived at the school.

"Sure." Piper quickly agreed and started walking.

They party was just as the fall version nicely decorated. This time with early flowering plants like snowdrops and daffodils and trees. The music was already playing and the group soon joined the other student's on the dancefloor. A while after they had arrived Piper saw Polly come in together with Scott. She shortly went over to say hi and offered them to come over to dance with them but they wanted to get something to drink first. So Piper went back to Alex, Nicky and Lorna on the dancefloor. They were dancing for a while and Piper tried not to stare but she liked watching Alex dance. She seemed to be completely lost in the music and she loved the way she danced. Nicky mouthed to her 'Tell her!' but Piper just shook her head. She couldn't. Too risky.

"Want to go outside and get some fresh air?" Alex asked after they had been dancing for a while.

"Oh yes. Good idea." Piper quickly agreed. Funny that this party progressed so close to the last one but then felt completely different. She felt better and more comfortable this time with Alex around.

"Oh god. Air." Alex exclaimed as soon as she was outside the building.

Piper laughed. "It's nice, isn't it?"

"More than that." Alex said. "Come, will you walk a bit with me?"

"Sure." Piper replied. For a while nobody said anything and Piper eventually decided to tell Alex about what had happened about two weeks ago.

"Do you know Jeremy Thompson, I think he's in the same class as Nicky?!" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Alex asked already fearing that Piper would tell her she had the biggest crush on that guy.

"Well, his parents were over that evening when we did that movie night and couldn't do it at my home, because my mom had friends from her country club over." she started.

"Okay. And why are you telling me this?" Alex wondered.

"I'm not done yet. You wanted to know what happened. I know you noticed that something was bothering me after that and I probably should have told you about that. It's actually the same reason your mom had that fight with Carol." Piper explained.

Alex chuckled. "Still calling her Carol?"

"She is still behaving like an idiot that I don't really want my mother to be, so yes." Piper answered.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Keep telling me, please." Alex asked.

"Yeah. Well Jeremy told his parents about the rumour or whatever that went around at school that you liked girls and I don't know how they came to talk about it but the Thompsons told my parents and the basic line is: Carol is a homophobic idiot." Piper ended. She didn't want to go into detail too much.

"Oh shit." Alex replied. She didn't know what to say.

"You could say that." Piper chuckled. "However them telling her was the reason she actually made me go home that evening. She actually told me I shouldn't see you again, you would be a bad influence."

"Wow. I'm getting more speechless every second." Alex explained her silence.

"You don't have to say anything. I know this is weird and all, but you wanted to know. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to hurt you. It hurts me to hear her say so mean things about you and she knows you're nothing like what she says." Piper said with a lump in her throat and feeling tears in the corner of her eyes.

"I wouldn't have thought Carol would be like that." Alex said feeling bad seeing Piper so upset. "But thank you for not listening to her." she quietly added and Piper first saw Alex so vulnerable.

"I could never not see you. Alex." she ensured her. "You're the most important person in my life." she added.

"I .. You are too, you know? The most important person to me" Alex answered, trying to figure out if she should just take the risk and tell Piper about her feelings. Hearing her say all that and her still being here with her even though she had to go through all this trouble with her mother made her only fall even more in love with Piper.

"Really?" Piper said unbelievingly. Alex nodded. Piper eventually collected all the courage she had. "I, uhm, I … god I don't know how to do this." she chuckled under her tears. She had never been this nervous. "You know, Nicky wasn't joking earlier?! There is someone I like, or I think I've fallen in love with." Piper started slowly. Alex's throat felt constricted. "I just haven't been brave enough to do something about it. Alex, I think, I uhm, I am in love with you." she stumbled the last bit. Alex was speechless. Was this a dream? "It's probably completely stupid." Piper backtracked anxiously. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No. Don't say that." Alex quickly intervened. "I, wow. I've dreamt of this day." she had to laugh while tears ran down her face. She was so happy. "I've been wanting to tell you that too. For soo long. But I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I'm in love with you too."

"Really?" Piper exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah." Alex answered and moved closer. They both leaned in and finally shared their first kiss. It was sweet and quite salty as both girls were crying, happy tears, but still.

"Oh my god. This is like the best day of my life." Piper said shortly after they broke apart.

"They best day of our lives." Alex beamed at her. They kissed again both giggling.

"Finally I can do that." Alex said.

"For how long did you want to do that?" Piper wanted to know.

"Since shortly after the fall party." Alex quietly admitted.

"Damnit. We could have been doing this for so much longer!" Piper exclaimed.

"Why since when?" Alex was curious.

"Okay well I first had this feeling after the New Year's Eve party. But I wasn't sure and I first tried to ignore it, I mean, we've been friends for all our life. But well at some point I had to admit to myself that I had this crush on you and recently it actually turned into more than that. But I didn't want to ruin anything if you didn't like me like that." Piper explained.

"Oh dear. Guess we were both too scared." they both laughed. "But it doesn't matter. We got there eventually." Alex finished and kissed Piper again. She never wanted to stop. She would gladly do that for the rest of her life. They kept sitting there for a while both not saying anything but beaming with happiness that it was out and the other felt like they did.

Polly, still inside the gym building dancing with her boyfriend, had noticed that Piper had gone outside. She remembered Alex's warning vividly, but Piper came here with Alex so this time it was her turn to have an eye over her friend. Not that Polly didn't check on her every now and then. But she saw Piper leaving with Alex and didn't think she'd have to go after them.

"Do you want to stay here longer or go back inside?" Alex asked after a while.

"Uhm, I think I want to go back in, I'm starting to freeze a little." Piper replied her eyes still beaming with happiness.

"Me too actually. So let's go in." Alex smiled at her.

"Al?" Piper said reluctantly.

"What is it Pipes?" Alex anxiously asked. She already thought maybe Piper had changed her mind.

"Uhm, could we keep this to us for now? I mean I'm super happy that you feel how I do, but I …" Piper started.

"You don't want anyone to know yet." Alex concluded.

"Would that be okay? I just don't know if I'm ready for anyone to know yet and that it makes its way to my parents and…" Piper started rambling which Alex found pretty cute.

"It's okay, Pipes. I think it's better too for now. I want you all to myself." Alex replied and pulled Piper into her. Piper smiled widely and they went inside.

The found Nicky and Lorna dancing and joined them. Nicky looked at them suspiciously but didn't say anything. With the loud music a conversation would have been impossible anyway. Quite some time later Nicky said goodbye and that Lorna wanted to go home and that she'd bring her home. She again didn't say anything but they figured she had an idea. Obviously neither of them could hide their feelings well. It was a surprise they kept it hidden from each other for so long. Eventually they decided to leave too. Piper went over to Polly quickly to say goodbye.

"You're leaving already?" Polly was surprised. "I thought you had fun."

"I did. But I want to go home now." Piper replied.

"What is going on? There is something about you?!" Polly noticed but couldn't quite place it.

"Nothing. Later okay?" Piper avoided answering right now.

"Okay. See you Monday then?" Polly wanted to know.

"Sure. Bye." Piper waved and walked towards Alex who was waiting for her close to the door.

"Ready to go?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Piper smiled widely.

They started walking and after a while Piper took Alex's hand. Alex smiled widely at the gesture. Her heart jumped and she felt even more excited than before.

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know yet. If anyone sees that, you know how they are…" Alex started. "Not that I don't like it, I just don't want things to happen you're not ready for."

"That's very thoughtful. But not many people walk this way, most get picked up anyway. And well if someone sees then let it happen." Piper replied and smiled at her.

"Okay." Alex smiled back. She felt like her birthday and Christmas happened to be on this day, she couldn't really describe how happy she felt. They kept walking silently until they reached the house where Alex's family lived. Alex was about to go in thinking Piper would of course come in too when Piper stopped her.

"Al, as much as I want to, I think I need to go home tonight." she told her, her face turning sad.

"Oh. Okay. Why can't you stay over?" Alex wanted to know. She didn't want Piper to leave.

"I would love to but my mom…" she started. "I'm scared that one day she'll do something that I can't do anything about and I can't see you anymore. I'm okay with her being mad at me but I don't want to exhaust her ignorance too much." she explained her sadness audible.

"I get that. I wouldn't want that either. I would like to keep seeing you." Alex smiled at her hopefully but with a hint of sadness.

"I can't even describe how happy this evening has made me. Or rather you. And I am so sorry I have to go home. But we could do something together tomorrow?!" Piper offered.

"I would like that." Alex smiled.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait." Piper said sweetly.

"I'll go to sleep immediately, or at least try. So that it is tomorrow as soon as possible." Alex replied.

"Wow. I didn't now you could be such a softy." Piper chuckled. "But I keep learning. And I like it." she added.

"Only for you, so you can't tell anyone." Alex replied a little cocky.

"I won't." Piper replied. Both girls kept looking for something to keep standing there and not part yet. They however knew the moment was coming.

Alex moved closer to Piper and kissed her. Both girls were still completely entranced by the fireworks inside them whenever they touched or kissed. It was a sweet goodbye, knowing they'd see each other the next day.

Alex went in and found her mom sitting at the couch. She looked up when she heard someone come in. She saw Alex and smiled at her but her look quickly turned into a questioning one when she didn't see Piper coming in too.

"Hey. Did you have fun? Where is Piper?" Diane asked.

"I had the best day of my life!" Alex said excitedly. She couldn't hide it and was so excited that she went over and hugged her mom tightly. Diane felt the happiness radiating from her daughter and felt happy immediately herself. "Oh, and Piper had to go home. She's scared her mother will do something if she exhausts her mom's ignorance of her having contact with me. But we agreed to see each other tomorrow."

"That's great. Well not that Piper had to go home. But that you had such a great evening. Does that mean she likes you too?" Diane cautiously asked.

"Uh, wait?! Since when do you know it is Piper I was talking about? I paid so much attention to never saying it was her I had a crush on?!" Alex was surprised and loosened the hug but again it was proved she couldn't hide things from her mother.

"Well, I had my suspicions but wasn't really sure. When you did the movie evening you two were closer than I've seen you before. But when Piper picked you up today I was sure about it. The way you two looked at each other was nothing like friends would really do." Diane chuckled.

"Yeah, well. Until today actually we were both too scared to ruin everything if the other didn't like one like that but we talked and eventually Piper found the courage to tell me and it was like a dream finally came true. I can't even describe how happy I am right now." Alex beamed.

"I am so happy for you." Diane smiled widely and pulled her daughter into another hug.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go to bed now. Hoping it is tomorrow soon. I doubt though that I'm able to fall asleep." Alex rambled and went to her room.

"Goodnight honey!" Diane shouted after her.

"What's going on, hon?" Louis asked her coming into the living room. "Alex just passed me in the hallway grinning like a Cheshire cat."

"First love. Her crush actually made the first step and told her she liked her." Diane said feeling emotional too now.

"Really? Who is it?" Louis wanted to know.

"You'll never guess… It's Piper." Diane replied with a big smile.

"Piper? Her best friend, like a sister Piper?" he was surprised.

"Yeah. I actually had my suspicions it was her for a while but today when she picked her up I was sure. And now she just told me. God I hope this ends well though." Diane said.

"Wow. I had no idea to be honest. But I'm happy for her. I knew she had a crush and you told me about it, but wow." Louis replied. "Well, I think it's great. Piper is such a nice and kind girl. I couldn't wish for anyone better fitting for our daughter. Do you doubt this ends well?" Louis wondered.

"Well love isn't always easy. But I think those two always had a special connection that no one else really understood." Diane replied.

XXXXX

When Piper arrived home her mom had been waiting for her, just as she expected.

"Hello, darling. How was the party?" she asked to draw the attention to her.

"It was good. We had a lot of fun." she told her and it made her sad she couldn't tell her everything. She actually just wanted to scream out to the world how happy she was.

"Great. You're going to bed now?" her mother wanted to know.

"Yeah. It's kinda late and I'm exhausted from all the dancing." Piper replied.

"Goodnight, honey." Carol said and watched her daughter go upstairs.

"Goodnight, mom." Piper replied and disappeared into her room.

Alex and Piper now lay both in their respective beds and thought back to the course of the evening. How both had been lost seeing the other dressed up and looking so beautiful, to the dancing and most important to their moment outside talking about Carol's and Diane's fight first and that leading to Piper telling Alex she liked her more than a friend. It made both girls very excited. They couldn't wait to see each other the next day and both tried to sleep but had a big problem to actually fall asleep to to their excitement and giddiness. At some point the need for sleep overwhelmed both of them and they both had similar dreams based on the developments of the evening before.


	16. Chapter 16: Family game day

Chapter 16: Family game day

The next morning Piper woke up and smiled. Wait - was that all a dream - or did she really tell Alex that she was in love with her. She touched her lips. She could remember feeling lips on hers. She was pretty sure it were Alex's too. Or was it a overly realistic dream? Piper was confused. She needed proof that this really happened, god, she needed it to have happened. She heard her phone ring. Someone had texted her.

[Alex: Good Morning, Pipes. Can't wait to see you today. :-)]

Piper felt excited. This meant yesterday in fact wasn't a dream.

[Piper: So yesterday really happened?]

[Alex: ? Like any other day before that. But if you mean confessing feelings then yes.]

[Piper: Yay. For a moment I thought this was all a dream.]

[Alex: It stopped being a dream yesterday…]

[Piper: It just seemed too good to be true.]

[Alex: It is. So, when do I get to see you today?]

[Piper: I could come over?! Or do you want to do something, like go swimming, we haven't done that in ages.]

[Alex: Anything would be great. Why swimming exactly?! There is a lot of things we haven't done in a while?]

[Piper: Something else then? Suggestions? I like water. And you. In a swimsuit.] Piper giggled as she sent this.

[Alex: Look who's all flirty now!]

[Piper: So, do I need to pack my swimstuff?]

[Alex: Pack it and we'll decide when you're here?!]

[Piper: Sounds good. I'll be there as soon as I can.]

Piper jumped out of bed, got dressed and collected a few things to take with her. She grabbed her bag and went downstairs to get something to eat before heading over to see Alex.

"Look who's risen from the dead." Danny commented as she came to the kitchen.

"It's not that late, Danny!" Piper replied.

"Hey!" Carol stopped them going on. "Good you're finally here, Piper. We've decided to do a Chapman's family day as now Danny is here too and we're all together."

'No. Not today.' Piper internally cursed. "I, uhm, actually had plans for today."

"Well, you can do whatever it is any other day, this day will be a day this family spends together. No excuses." Carol insisted.

Why exactly today? All Piper wanted was to see her -girlfriend? They hadn't officially called it that, but Piper was sure she couldn't really call Alex her friend anymore. This was the first time Carol ever had the idea of a family day. Why exactly today? She'd never been so insistent about everyone spending time together.

"Please, mom. Can't we do that another day? Danny will be here for the next two weeks! We could also do that tomorrow?!" Piper suggested.

"What is so important that you can't postpone it?" Carol was now curious.

"Nothing." Piper gave in quietly still cursing internally. She couldn't tell her mother about what had happened the day before with Alex. She'd just play along and then hopefully get out when there was a good moment. She quickly texted Alex.

[Piper: I am so annoyed. Exactly this day Carol insist on having a family day, playing games and stuff. I tried but I can't get out of it.]

[Alex: Oh great. Since when do you guys do family days?!] Piper had to smile a little by Alex's sarcastic reply.

[Piper: Since today. I'm trying to get out as soon as I can. I'm sorry.]

[Alex: Not your fault. Good luck though. I'll be waiting here for you.]

[Piper: I can't wait to see you later.]

Piper's last text made Alex smile. She was impatiently waiting to see Piper too. They sat at the breakfast table as Diane watched her daughter go from really happy and anticipating to annoyed.

"Everything okay, hon?" Diane asked.

"Urgh. Well… Piper wanted to come over and now she just texted that Carol wants to do a family day and there is no way to get out any time soon." Alex told her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sure though this isn't on purpose. Carol doesn't know and probably just enjoys having her kids around. It's not wrong to want to do something with everyone while everyone is together." Diane explained.

"I don't get how you can be understanding with her like that. Piper told me yesterday what it was you two fought about couple weeks ago." Alex started. Diane looked surprised.

"I know it is hard to understand. And even if I don't like Carols views, she is a mother and likes spending time with her kids. Same as I like spending time with my children." Diane told her.

"Yeah, but you don't disapprove of me seeing my best friend because she likes girls." Alex argued.

"Well, I'm hopeful that Carol will learn one day that all that counts is her kids happiness and not if they prefer girls or boys. Same as she doesn't judge them if they prefer pizza over pasta. It's not a choice you make, it's a thing of personal taste and preferences. One you were born with. People shouldn't judge other people, especially their own kids, over their preferences whether it comes to food or your choice of partner." Diane said. Alex in this moment was even more proud than ever before to be her mother's daughter. She went over and hugged her. Diane looked surprised for a second but soon reciprocated the hug.

"I couldn't have asked for a better mother. I love you." Alex whispered in her ear which made Diane the happiest person ever and she felt tears rise in her eyes.

"I love you too, honey." Diane quietly replied and kissed Alex on the cheek. "What do you want to do until Piper can sneak out of the family day?"

"We could play something?!" Alex suggested. She liked the days when they could spend time together. It was great that her family was so close, she always felt safe to be herself around everyone, a fact she knew wasn't a given thing. She saw how Piper struggled with the expectations of her parents and how much of herself she could show them without them disapproving.

They agreed on a game and played for a while. It seemed like ages but they had a lot of fun when suddenly the bell rang. Alex jumped up. "I hope this is Piper." she exclaimed and went to answer the door. Diane and Louis smiled at the excitement. Soon they heard excited chatting from the hallway. Both girls came into the living room with the biggest smiles on their faces. Piper shortly said hi to Diane and Louis and they went to Alex's room.

"God, are they cute." Diane whispered to Louis.

"Young love." Louis smiled.

In Alex's room Piper and Alex had made themselves comfortable building a nice place to sit closely with the blanket and pillow.

"How did the family day go?" Alex asked a little curious.

"It wasn't that bad. We played a few games until my mother was satisfied with the time everyone spend together and finally let everyone go. It felt like days though." Piper said, cuddling into Alex. "What did you do?"

"We played games too. It was fun. I'm glad though you're finally here." Alex smiled at Piper, enjoying having her so close.

"Me too." Piper said and returned the smile, turning her head slightly so she looked at Alex directly. Alex lowered her head a little and kissed Piper sweetly.

"Mhm. I love doing that." Alex said looking into Piper's eyes after breaking away from the kiss when both girls needed to breathe.

"So do I." Piper replied. They just lay there for a bit cuddled into each other holding hands and enjoying each others presence.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Alex asked after a while.

"Sure." Piper replied. They started a movie and cuddled up on their improvised couch-like bed. "By the way. Does your mom know? When I came in it seemed a bit like that?!" Piper said and Alex told her how she had had talks with her about having a crush but not telling her who it was and about her mother making the connection somehow and asking her about it.

"Well, it must be great to have a relationship like that with your mother. Sometimes I wish my mother was a bit more like Diane. More than sometimes, to be honest." Piper said truthfully.

"It is. I can tell her anything. She's like a best friend. Next to being my mother." Alex said sincerely.

"I literally know no teenager beside you who would say that about their mother." Piper chuckled.

"Yeah, well. None of them have the luck of having Diane Vause as their mother." Alex replied.

Piper laughed and nodded. "You're a lucky girl."

"I definitely am. I got a great family and you here with me as my - girlfriend?" she said half asking. Piper's reaction was a wide smile. "So this is a yes?" Alex asked to be sure.

"Yes. It is." Piper still smiled brightly and moved closer to kiss her now girlfriend.

"This is my lucky weekend. Maybe I should play the lottery. I've got so much luck I'd probably win." Alex beamed.

Piper laughed. "Maybe you should. I guess we're both lucky."

They finished the movie and as it got later Piper unfortunately had to go home.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school though." Piper smiled.

"Where Nicky is going to be all over us with questions of what happened." Alex added sarcastically.

"I'd be curious too, if I was her." Piper replied.

"She's gonna be 'finally they won't complain about unrequited crushes anymore.'" Alex tried an imitation which made Piper laugh. Alex loved hearing Piper laugh.

"Anyway. I'll go home now. As much as I'd like to stay." Piper said and they went to the hallway and the door. On the way out Piper quickly said goodbye to Diane and Louis and then made her way home. But not before she gave Alex a sweet goodbye kiss.

The next day at school Piper was really late as she had overslept and ran to her class. This meant that she unfortunately didn't see Alex before school but she comforted herself with the fact she'd see her girlfriend - she loved calling her that in her mind - during the first bigger break. But first she of course saw Polly who had been curious ever since she noticed the change in Piper at the party.

"Hey, Piper!" she stopped her while they had to change rooms between lessons.

"Hey, Pol. What's up?" Piper asked.

"I was about to ask you that question. You're different since saturday?! The recent weeks you always seemed occupied with something in your mind and now you seem all glowy." Polly stated.

"That's because I am happy." Piper replied.

"You want to tell me the reason of your happiness?" Polly kept asking.

"Well, I could say that I've told somebody that I liked them this weekend and that person feels the same and that makes me pretty happy." Piper gave away. She wasn't sure how open Polly was towards girls dating girls.

"What? You didn't even tell me there was someone you liked? Who is it? I am so happy for you. Now we can go on double dates?!" Polly exclaimed excitedly.

"Woah, slow down there. I just told you and you're already planning double dates?" Piper asked unbelievingly.

"I suggested, not planned. But stop avoiding my questions. Why don't you want to tell me who it is?" Polly pushed.

"Well, what if I told you it was a girl?" Piper cautiously whispered to her.

"What? Piper since when are you g…" Polly started but Piper quickly shut her up by holding her hand over her mouth.

"First of all, if you were meant to say gay, I'm not. I like both. Second of all could you shout it across the whole yard, so everyone knows?" Piper asked sarcastically and looked at her annoyed.

"Sorry." Polly said quieter. "So you got a girlfriend?" she asked wide eyed.

"Yes." Piper answered and smiled widely.

"Who?" Polly asked again.

"You won't let go, huh?" Piper chuckled. Just then they ran into Alex who smiled widely at her. Unfortunately they didn't really have time as both were on their way to another classroom.

"Hey Pipes." Alex greeted.

Piper smiled back. "Hi Al. See you during break at the picnic tables?"

"Sure." she replied and turned to go to her room.

"Oh my god." Polly exclaimed. "It's Alex, isn't it?"

"Shh. Yes." Piper confirmed.

"Woah. I thought you were best friends?!" Polly was surprised.

"We were, are. I mean, she still is my best friend. But we both noticed at different points that what we feel is more than friendship." Piper explained.

"She is your girlfriend and best friend?" Polly asked incredulously.

"Isn't it possible to be best friends with your girlfriend, or boyfriend if you know each other very well? I think both works pretty fine." Piper told her.

"Well, best friend is usually for friends… And girlfriend for someone you have feelings for. But whatever, I guess somehow that could work together." Polly pondered. "Please tell me about saturday?!" she begged.

"Later, okay. The bell is going to ring any second." Piper said and as if on cue exactly that happened. After the lesson they went outside to meet with their boy/girlfriends. Piper promised to tell Polly as soon as they had time but right now she wanted to spend her break with Alex same as Polly went to find Scott.

"Hey, Pipes." Alex greeted when she saw her approaching the picnic table.

"Hey girlfriend." Piper smiled widely.

"I like when you call me that." Alex said happily. "But what happened to keeping it secret for now?"

"There is literally no one here beside the two of us!" Piper looked around.

"True. Come here." Alex replied and patted with her hand the place next to her. So Piper sat down next to her.

"We could catch up on that swimming sometime this week if you want to?" Piper suggested.

"I would like that. End of the week? How about Friday after school?" Alex offered.

"Sounds great." she replied.

They kept chatting and as they were still alone with no one around they used their chance to exchange a few kisses. Unfortunately the break was over too soon and they had to go back inside for the next lessons.

"See you at lunch?" Alex asked.

"Of course." Piper replied and smiled at her.

On their way in she ran into Polly. "Hey, how was your break?" Piper asked.

"Great, Scott and I found a rather quiet spot and talked a little and I tell you, Piper, he is such a good kisser!" Polly raved about her boyfriend. "How about you?"

"Well, pretty much the same." Piper smiled.

"You still owe me a story!" Polly stated.

"I don't owe you anything." Piper gave back. "But if you're nice I'll tell you the story. Later, though."

"Allright." Polly said as the bell rung.

Lunch break came around soon and they headed towards the cafeteria. "Sit with us?!" Polly asked.

"I promised to meet Alex." Piper only replied.

"Then you two sit with us?" Polly changed her statement.

"I'll ask her." Piper said looking around trying to find the black haired girl. She eventually discovered her strolling in with Nicky.

"Hey, blondie." Nicky greeted when they got closer and Piper rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"Hey." was her annoyed reply. "Polly asked if we want to sit with her."

"Another day?!" Alex asked.

"Okay. I don't mind. She'll just wonder. Why don't we go over there?" Piper pointed at an empty table and they sat down putting their trays in front of them. Nicky looked at both of them to find out if there had been any conversation about someone having feelings or if they were still both too scared to admit.

"I really enjoyed the party this weekend. Mostly because I could see Lorna in that gorgeous dress she was wearing but it was a good party." Nicky started trying to get them to talk. "How about you guys?"

Alex and Piper looked at each other. They had to tell their friend but no one really wanted to tell their friend. Alex eventually started.

"It was a good party that is true. But I most enjoyed the little walk Piper and I had." Alex said.

"Why that? Please feel free to fill me in on some details." Nicky nearly begged.

They laughed. "Well Piper told me what it was our mothers fought about and that Carol obviously found out about me liking girls and said some not so nice comments about it." Alex kept on telling.

"So that was all you talked about?" Nicky seemed almost disappointed. She had sensed something was different between her two friends but she didn't want to presume anything so she was waiting for them to tell her.

"No. Let me finish!" Alex said. "Piper also told me, that her mother told her to not see me again because she is homophobic. But I'm happy she didn't listen."

Nicky waited for her to go on but Alex stayed silent. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?!" she said annoyed.

"Well then you know how you are sometimes!" Alex laughed and Piper joined in.

"Nicky. Remember what you said the other day, when we met at the diner?" Piper asked.

"What exactly?!" Nicky asked but had an idea what Piper was hinting at.

"Well, let's say I thought about it, took the risk and it turned out pretty well." Piper smiled.

"I knew it would." Nicky smiled back. "Finally. It's been hard keeping in mind what I could say and what not, you guys!"

"Wait. What are you talking about?" Alex asked confused.

"I met with Nicky the other day. I needed someone to talk about how I felt about you who could maybe give me tips?! And Nicky said that maybe the party would be the right time to tell you that I liked you and risk it. I initially didn't want to because I was afraid I'd ruin everything, but Nicky encouraged me to go for it." Piper explained.

"I couldn't believe that you two have a crush on each other and both are too scared to do anything about it. So this was an easy to solve problem once I could convince at least one of you that it might be a good idea to talk about it." Nicky told them.

"Well I'm glad you did." Alex said and smiled widely. "Because now I finally got the girlfriend I wanted for sooo long."

"I'm happy for you two." Nicky said sincerely. "Now we can double date." she joked.

"Not you too!" Piper exclaimed and both Alex and Nicky looked at her surprised. "Why is everyone so keen on double dates?! Polly had the same idea."

"Wait - Polly knows?" Alex asked surprised.

"Well I had to tell her. She noticed my happiness and I told her how I told someone that I like them and it turned out we had the same feelings and when we ran into each other this morning between lessons she kinda figured it was you." Piper explained.

"And I thought you wanted to keep it secret for now?" Alex again pondered. "Surprises me a little to be honest."

"Well I guess close friends are okay. But everyone who needs to know, knows by now. So no telling more people." Piper replied.

"How many people do know?" Nicky wanted to know.

"Well, the three of us and Polly." Piper answered.

"And my mom, and probably dad." Alex added.

"Oh yeah, right." Piper remembered.

"Your parents already know?" Nicky was surprised.

"Well my mom has been overly perceptive my whole life. I told her about having a crush on someone but not who it was. I think at some point she figured out it was Piper and when I came home saturday all happy she asked me about it. And she'd know if I lied." Alex explained.

"And she's cool about it?" Nicky wondered.

"Yeah." Alex shortly replied and they finally ate their lunch which was half cold already.

They soon had to go back to their classrooms. The rest of their school day was really uneventful. Some of the teachers gave them a big load of homework and Piper was pretty annoyed as it meant less time she could spend with her girlfriend. Which was basically the only thing she really thought about for most of the time. In her math class after the lunch break she was so absent minded that Polly had to pinch her to get her attention back from her daydream and Piper noticed she had drawn little hearts with an 'A' in the middle all over her folder without even noticing.

"How could I not notice your crush before?" Polly whispered to Piper her question being rather rhetorical.

"No idea." Piper answered anyway. "And it's not just a crush."


	17. Chapter 17: Homework

Chapter 17: Homework

Both girls felt like the next weeks went by too fast. They saw each other as often as they could without making it too obvious to Carol. Two weeks after the ball they walked through the park close to their homes and talked.

"Did Mr. Honders give you that stupid homework too?" Alex asked.

"The essay about what we see in our future? Yes." Piper laughed remembering how everyone in her class had complained about that assignment. They were supposed to write an essay about their plans for their future and where they would like to be in a few years. The problem was that they'd need to put quite some effort into it as it got marked and Piper really didn't want to get a bad grade just because of one stupid essay.

"Do you have any idea what we're supposed to write in this? I don't have any clue what I want to be yet, or what exactly how I want my future to be. Well I know I would like you to be in it and of course my family, but that's about it." Alex answered truthfully.

"Yeah. No idea. The same for me though, I'd like you to be there too. But I really don't have any other idea. But I intend to get a good grade. So I'll think of something. If that comes true in the end doesn't matter. I think the only thing he wants to achieve with this is to make us think about it." Piper explained.

"That makes sense. You want to do it together?" Alex asked.

"Sure. Together we'll have the best ideas. And surprise Mr. Honders with our considered essays." Piper laughed. She was looking forward to the day they would do that. First, she would get to spend time with her girlfriend, second doing this homework with Alex would be way more fun than doing it alone, third she could tell her mother she'd go do homework with a friend and not completely lie to her this time. She hated lying to her but every time she had told her she was going to visit Alex she had started a discussion with her mother about not seeing her anymore. So she recently had avoided the argument by telling her mother something else when really she spend time with Alex. Sometimes she said she'd visit Polly, sometimes she told her she'd spend time with Nicky. Which wasn't always a lie. Lucky her mother didn't know Nicky liked girls too, otherwise there'd be even more arguments. Her friends always had her back fortunately and would tell her mother they'd spend the day with Piper if she'd ever ask.

"Probably. Tomorrow after school?" Alex asked.

"Mhm. There was something tomorrow. Somehow there is a bell ringing. I can't think of something right now but there is something." Piper said trying hard to remember what was planned for the next day.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Alex asked jokingly and laughed.

Piper didn't notice that Alex was joking and replied quickly and a little anxiously. "No. NO. Of course not. I love spending time with you. But seriously I don't remember right now what I had planned tomorrow. Maybe I got it saved in my calendar…" she trailed off and took out her phone.

"Pipes. Hey." Alex stopped Piper from walking and made her look at her. "I was joking. I know you wouldn't make up a reason not to see me." Alex tried to calm her.

"Oh. I didn't… Sorry." Piper said blushing a little. "I was asked to pick up Cal and take him to a friend." she said relieved that she finally remembered what she had to do and why she couldn't do the homework with Alex after school.

"You're cute when you blush like that." Alex said straightforward.

"Should I say thank you now?" Piper chuckled.

"I don't know. Just a true statement." Alex replied. They kept walking silently for a while.

"How is the situation with your mom?" Alex asked after a bit cautiously.

"Not improving really. As I told you she always started a discussion that I am not supposed to see you everytime I told her I'd come over. So I avoided that discussion by telling her I'd go see Polly or Nicky." Piper told her.

"So Nicky is okay?" Alex said surprisedly.

"As long my mom doesn't know about the fact that she likes girls too, yes it is." Piper said half apologetically.

"Well I guess that's good. Otherwise she'd maybe get suspicious that you visit Polly too many times a week." Alex chuckled.

They kept walking. Piper wanted to take Alex's hand so badly but as it was close to home she was scared that someone would walk by and see them and possibly tell her parents. Instead of doing it she decided to say something.

"I wish we could walk through the park and I could hold your hand without being scared that someone sees us." she quietly admitted.

"I would like that, too. But you don't have to do anything you're not ready for." Alex replied.

"Well, I wouldn't care about people in school. Let them talk, whatever. I'm just scared about my parents finding out. I mean, you know how Carol's reaction was…" Piper explained.

"It's okay, Pipes. I can totally understand that. I hope that someday we will be able to do that. To hold hands when we feel like it, show to everyone around that we're in love." Alex said.

"That would be amazing. I don't want to be forced to pretend to be someone that I am not. Which, considered by what my parents expect, shouldn't be a hard thing." Piper laughed, even though she didn't feel like this was funny, it was rather sad, but somehow the situation had its own comedy. "But anyway. I could come to you tomorrow after I dropped Cal off at his friends place and we could start with the essay?"

"I would like that." Alex replied and they walked back. Carol had texted Piper that she was expected home so they slowly walked towards the Vauses house.

"Goodbye. I'll see you tomorrow." Piper said as she was about to walk home.

"Yes. See you tomorrow." Alex replied and moved closer towards Piper. They kissed and Piper walked home.

The next day school passed pretty quickly and of course Alex and Piper spend their breaks together.

"Hey guys. Mind if I sit?" Polly asked when she approached Alex and Piper already sitting on a table during lunch break.

"You can sit with us Polly." Piper replied.

"So, have you heard yet?" Polly asked looking at both of them.

"Have we heard what?" Alex asked back.

"Oh, well. Some students noticed you two hanging out a lot. And some say that maybe you are together. But it's mostly just talk, I mean they know Alex is gay but they also know you have been friends for a long time. So I don't think anyone really has a clue." Polly explained.

Alex didn't say anything but just looked a little worried at Piper, seeing how she reacted.

"Oh let them talk. First, they don't have any prove, second, well it's basically the truth, third, we can just tell them we've been friends for all our life and still are." Piper said trying not to overreact. She was in fact scared that somehow someone said something and it found their way to her parents and that would lead to a big fight with her parents. She had no idea what they would do if they found out. Her dad had been pretty absent and hadn't said a word about the discussion Piper and Carol had. Piper had no idea what her father thought about all of this but a very clear idea how her mother would react.

"You sure Pipes?" Alex asked cautiously.

"What could we do about it anyway?" Piper replied.

"Well, we could ask more people to sit with us. Usually it's just the two of us, which can be suspicious. Or we could spend a little less time together and just hang out with our other friends more." Alex suggested even though she wasn't a big fan of those ideas. But it was the only thing she could think of to maybe make people talk less about them and thought about the fact that they could be together less.

"Okay. I'll agree to the first idea. No way we are seeing each other less. I like to spend my time with you. If necessary I'm okay with the rest of our friends being there too." Piper replied.

"Sure. Then we'll ask Nicky if she wants to join us for lunch the next days. Where has she been recently anyway?" Alex wondered.

"Hanging out with Lorna?!" Piper guessed.

"I thought she goes to another school?" Alex was surprised.

"No. I think she's in Nicky's parallel class." Piper answered.

"Oh. Okay. Then we could ask Nicky and Lorna. If we find them." Alex added.

"I hope it's okay for you, Pol, if we ask you to sit with us? More than once a week?!" Piper asked her friend who had mostly been sitting with her boyfriend and only once in a while joined her for lunch. "You could ask Scott if he wants to join?!"

"I'll ask him. Does that mean every lunch break?" Polly wanted to know. She too enjoyed the time alone with her boyfriend.

"Well, maybe not everyday. But as you noticed we probably need some company so people don't keep talking. I really can't have my parents finding out about this." Piper explained.

"Do you really think they care about school gossip?" Polly asked incredulously and Piper told her how her parents found out about Alex being gay and her mother's reaction.

"Ouch." Polly said after Piper finished. "That's bad. And I can totally understand you that you don't want her to know. It must be hard though. To keep it away and hide the fact that you're in love?!"

"It sure is. But it's easier than arguing with my mom. I'm scared she will send me to some boarding school or something far away so I don't even have a chance to see Alex if she found out about this. That's basically my biggest fear." Piper explained the horror audible in her voice.

"Hey. Don't be scared. We're all here for you. We'll do our best so your mom doesn't find out." Polly tried to reassure her.

"Thanks Pol. Let's hope this never happens." Piper replied.

"Until your mom is ready or you are done with school or moved out or whatever you can always tell her you are visiting me when you meet Alex. If she calls I'll tell her you're with me." Polly offered.

"Thanks Pol. You're the best. I wish I didn't have to lie to her but I can admit when there is something I can't change." Piper answered thankfully.

"No problem. You'd do the same for me." Polly stated and it was true.

The bell rung and everyone went back to their classrooms. When school was over she picked up Cal to walk him over to his friend.

"You know I could have walked there alone, right?" Cal asked his big sister as they were walking. He was twelve and had developed quite an attitude.

"I know, smartie, but mom told me to pick you up. I'd rather do something else instead too, but this isn't a choice we get to make really." Piper told him and saw him scrunch his face at hearing the nickname Piper had given him years ago.

"Could you stop calling me that? I'm way too old for that!" Cal said angrily.

"Why? You're still my little smart brother?" Piper chuckled.

"I'll always be your little brother and do I have to become stupid to stop you from calling me that? Because that's going to be hard, but I'll do it!" he replied.

"Okay, okay. I'll try, okay?" Piper said. "I kinda like it though, but if you want me to stop I'll stop."

"Thanks. Can I ask you something?" Cal turned to her more seriously.

"Sure. What is it?" Piper was curious what was on her brothers mind.

"Is it true what mom says?" he asked insecurely.

"What exactly?" she wanted to know.

"That Alex likes girls? And that it's not acceptable?" he voiced.

"Wow. Okay. Well it is true that Alex likes girls. But the rest mom said is not. She just can't accept it. It doesn't matter who makes you happy and who you fall in love with. If that person is the same sex as you" Cal giggled. "Oh dear, Cal. What I was saying is it doesn't matter if a girl falls in love with a girl or a boy. As long as you're happy and not hurting anyone you can basically do whatever you want."

"Then why does mom keep swearing about it?" Cal was confused.

"Because she was raised differently. Her parents taught her that two women or men falling in love is not okay and accepted in society. Plus she doesn't want to accept it. She could also decide to at least, you know, learn a few things about gay people. I'm not asking her to be an advocate or anything but she could be a bit more open about people who are different from the perfect picture she has in her mind." Piper explained and felt her anger rise a bit. She didn't want to take it out on her brother though, it wasn't his fault.

"So mom is wrong about it? There's nothing reprehensible about it?" Cal asked her.

"No. Who you love is not a choice. Your heart decides that. If you're attracted to the same sex - don't laugh - is something you're born with. And it doesn't matter who you love. Mom needs to learn that all that matters is if you're happy with yourself and your choices." Piper told him.

"Okay." he seemed to think about it. "Can I ask you another question?"

"It's 'ask Piper day'. Sure you can." Piper chuckled.

"You've been different recently. More happy sometimes but I noticed you and mom fight a lot. This is a little confusing." Cal started.

"Mom and I had discussions because she can't accept that Alex likes girls and wanted me to not see her anymore. And I didn't want to listen to that." Piper told him. "So what was your question?"

"Well basically why you fought. But also what your happiness is about?" Cal asked further.

Piper smiled. "Well. I told someone I like them and the feelings are returned. That's what made and makes me happy."

"So you got a boyfriend?" Cal asked surprisedly. Piper contemplated whether to tell him the truth or not. But she trusted her brother.

"No. I don't. Do you promise me on everything that's important to you that you won't say a word to mom about this?" she asked him even though she knew he wouldn't say anything knowing about their mothers attitude.

"I promise. Not a word." he looked at her seriously.

"I don't have a boyfriend but a girlfriend." Piper told him.

"You are gay too?" his eyes turned wide in surprise.

"No. I like boys and girls." Piper explained.

"Wow. This whole liking other people thing is confusing. I'm just going to be by myself then." Cal concluded.

"Don't say that. When there is someone you like you'll know." Piper smiled.

"Do I know your girlfriend?" Cal wanted to know.

"Look who's full of questions today!" Piper laughed. "Yes. You do. Well it's Alex actually."

"Really? That's kinda cool!" Cal replied.

"Yeah, I think so too." they both laughed before Piper turned back to serious. "But really you can't say anything to mom. I don't know what she'll do. Maybe send me to some boarding school far away. And trust me you don't want to be the only child at home." Cal looked scared as she said that.

"Oh please don't ever let that happen!" he exclaimed.

"So. There we are. I guess mom will pick you up tonight. I'm going to Alex's now. See you at home." Piper said as she walked away.

"See you." Cal shouted and disappeared in his friends house.

Piper walked on and soon arrived at her destination. The door was opened very shortly after she had rung the bell.

"Hi Pipes." Alex greeted her smiling widely.

"Hi Al." Piper smiled back, stepped toward Alex and gave her a kiss. "I've been waiting to do this all day."

"Me too." Alex replied. "Come in."

"Hi Piper." Diane greeted her as she saw her coming in.

"Hi Diane." she greeted back.

"You're barely home, are you?" she chuckled.

"Well I would ask Alex to come over once in a while but I don't think that's a good idea." Piper replied.

"Yeah. I don't think so either. It's okay. You can stay here as much as you want to. You're always welcome." Diane said.

"Thanks." Piper was indeed really thankful.

"What are you girls up to?" Diane asked.

"Homework. Basically. Mr. Honders gave us this assignment to write an essay about our futures. Guess that's going to take some time." Alex answered.

"You both together?" Diane asked surprisedly.

"No. We just decided to write it together. Well everyone writes her own but we do it together at the same time." it was now Piper to answer her question. "Both mine and Alex's class got that task."

"That's alright." Diane smiled. She remembered how she was when she had her first boyfriends and was happy for Alex and Piper that they could discover that together. Diane wondered if everything would have been different if they hadn't grown up together like they did, but guessed she'd never know. Piper and Alex went to Alex's room and got their materials out.

"So… I don't even know how to start this..." Alex said looking at her empty paper.

"Well before we really start writing we should think about what we want to be in it. So maybe we start by making a list of the things that we might want answers to." Piper started.

"Reasonable. What should be on that list?" Alex was happy Piper was there to help her.

"Well, we need to answer things like: What job do I want? How should my family life look like? What kind of person do I want to be? What do I see myself doing in my leisure time?" Piper explained.

"Good point. It's great I got a smart girlfriend." Alex chuckled.

"Yeah, indeed you're lucky." Piper teased her.

"Only through luck? I don't believe that." Alex said almost unbelievingly. She stood up and snuck up behind Piper, who didn't even notice, and started to tickle her.

"Hey." Piper screamed in surprise but soon went over to a counter attack. It was Piper who threw the first pillow and Alex looked quite surprised when she got hit by something soft.

"Wait! I'll get you back for that." Alex laughed and grabbed another pillow. In the middle of their little fight they both lost balance and fell onto Alex's bed. They laid there for a while trying to calm down and looked at each other. Both Piper and Alex felt their hearts beating. Not only from their fight but also because of their closeness. Both closed the small distance they had at seemingly the same time and kissed the other. First it started pretty innocent and sweet but soon the kiss turned more passionate. Eventually both broke the kiss to get some air.

"As much as I would love to keep laying here and enjoy this, we have to start with this homework." Piper said looking at Alex while she felt really excited and all the butterflies in her belly flutter like crazy.

"But that's no fun." Alex replied reluctantly.

"I know. But I don't want to write this on the last moment possible and then write something that I didn't think through and have no time to redo it." Piper explained and even though she loved laying there with Alex got up and returned to their homework.

"So this is our list?" Alex asked after she got up too and looked at the notes Piper had written down.

"So far. Yes. Anything to add?" Piper asked.

"I can't think of anything right now." Alex answered focussing on their task ahead.

"Okay. So before we go on let's answer those questions first. That's probably going to be the hardest part. After that it shouldn't be hard to write it in a text." Piper said. She liked when she could focus on her task and work concentrated on it, so structuring it by reciting the steps to do helped her organize and get her work done faster so she could do something else as soon as she was done. Which in this case would probably be cuddling on the bed with Alex.

"I admire your determination." Alex admitted.

"Thanks. Well the sooner we finish this the sooner we can do other things." Piper told her.

"Like what?" Alex asked with a smirk on her face.

"Like sort the books in your bookshelf. It's a pure mess." Piper said trying to keep a straight face.

"That sounds truly boring and I like it that way. All messy." Alex complained.

"It was a joke. It won't be anymore if you keep distracting me from writing this essay!" Piper explained.

"Okay. Okay. Full concentration. I promise." Alex replied and smiled at Piper.

"Great. Then take your time to think about the answers for a while. And then we can talk about it." Piper suggested. They both stayed silent for a bit and seemed to think about what they'd answer.

"Okay. I think I'm ready." Alex said first.

"Okay, let's start then." Piper agreed. "Do you want to talk about it or go straight to writing it down?"

"I think it'll be better to first talk about it. Maybe something I came up with might not work. You can tell me if something sounds strange." Alex said.

"I will. So let's start with what you want to do, what kind of job do you want to have?" Piper started.

"Well I've always loved books. So I guess my job should have something to do with books. I know it's a wide field from author through the whole process of editing and producing and so on in a publishing house to bookstores or libraries. I don't know if I am good at writing, but I'd like to try. Or if this doesn't work I'd love to be an editor." Alex declared. "How about you?"

"That sounds like a great plan. I don't know yet, really. I tried to come with something but I still have no idea. So much to just writing anything, huh?!" Piper said reluctantly and sounded a little down.

"Hey. It's okay. There are so many directions one could go in. How are we supposed to know which one is the right one for us at our age?" Alex asked.

"But we need an answer for this essay!" Piper replied.

"Okay. We'll find something. You love to run. Maybe you could be an athlete. Run competitions or something like that. You also like books a lot and are good at managing things, always keeping an eye on everything, you could easily be the manager of a bookstore or something like that." Alex pointed out.

"Wow. That does sound good. And look. Who's got the smart girlfriend now? That's obviously me!" Piper chuckled. "I really like the idea of the bookstore."

"Is this a competition of who's got the smarter girlfriend?" Alex laughed.

"If it was I'd win. Just noticing a fact." Piper smiled at her.

"Alright. So how about the other questions?" Alex smiled back and asked.

"Well… I think during college or university it would be cool to live close to a bigger city. I don't know if I want to live in a bigger city later." Piper started.

"That sounds good. We'd have to find one though that's got something for both of us or two that aren't too far apart." Alex said.

"Well that's for later, when the time comes. Right now we should probably focus on what we want for our future. But we could add the point being close to the partner." Piper started.

Alex laughed. "Partner sounds a bit like we're thirty and business partners."

"What? No. I prefer calling you my girlfriend too, but considering the fact that it's better no one knows about us besides the people we can trust, I'm gonna go for partner as it's the closest thing I can come up with while not lying." Piper explained.

"I didn't think that far, but you're right. Can I write girlfriend though? I mean I guess everyone knows that I'm gay so…" Alex replied.

"Sure you can. It's your essay." Piper said.

"Okay. Leisure time? I guess that's the last point. Then we can start writing." Piper asked.

"Well, I'd like to keep up with my hobbies I got so far. Maybe I'll discover a few new things. Plus meet my friends as often as I can and want." Alex told her.

"Sounds good. About the same for me. Though once we live closer to a bigger city I'd like to try a few things." PIper said.

"Like what?" Alex wanted to know.

"I don't know. Whatever the city has to offer." Piper couldn't give more details. She had no plan what would be awaiting her. "Let's start writing." Both girls started to write down their thoughts and checked each other every now and then asking if a phrase they had in mind made sense. Alex was done first and put her paper and pen down. Piper took a bit longer and Alex tried to wait patiently but got a bit annoyed after about thirty minutes of waiting for Piper to finish.

"You know you don't have to write a whole book, right?" she tried.

"I know. I'm nearly done." Piper said clearly still in deep thought. After a couple more minutes she was done too. "Do you want to read it to each other or just leave it."

"We could read each others and then give each other feedback. And maybe then go over to other things?" Alex replied hopefully emphasizing other things.

"Sure." Piper grabbed her paper and held it out to Alex. They exchanged their essays and read in silence.


	18. Chapter 18: Who is that guy?

Chapter 18: Who is that guy?

When Piper arrived home she found her mom in the kitchen. She saw her taking a sip out of a glass but Carol hid it as soon as she noticed Piper coming in. Her daughter however had a rough idea that the glass most likely contained alcohol.

"Where have you been, Piper?" Carol asked and Piper heard how the alcohol had made her tongue heavy.

"Doing homework with one of my classmates. It was an assignment for two." she told her mother. It was only partially lied but her mom seemed to believe her so she went upstairs to her room.

It was pretty late in the evening, her dad still wasn't home and Piper wondered if he had another of his business dinners. Piper knew that her dad had been cheating on her mother in the past and wondered if this was what her mother obviously being upset and her father still not being home meant. She remembered seeing him that one time when she went to see that movie with Sara. She decided not to worry about it anymore and read a bit instead.

The next days she was busy with different things and didn't see Alex very often. They texted though and Piper paid attention to not read Alex's text or text her while Carol was close because she knew she had problems not to show her happiness and didn't want her mother to ask questions why she was smiling while texting.

"Hey, if you want to keep it secret, stop smiling like a madwoman every time you get a text." Cal said, who obviously noticed.

"I'm trying. Guess why I never read my texts or text while mom is around?!" Piper gave back.

"Good choice. But if you need someone to teach you how to hold up a poker face…" Cal alluded.

"How would you know?" Piper asked unbelievingly.

"Games with friends?!" Cal answered.

"Really?!" Piper looked at him surprised.

"What should be wrong about that?" Cal asked.

"Nothing. It just didn't seem to be a game one of your age would be playing." Piper replied. "Plus, I don't think mom would say it's a good idea."

"Everyone needs to have a secret passion. You've got your girlfriend and I have poker. And I don't think that mom would say dating Alex is a good idea either." he argued.

"Touché." Piper chuckled.

"Piper. Can I talk to you?" her mother shouted from the kitchen.

Piper's eyes went wide and she looked shocked. She didn't notice anything, did she? Piper had been very careful around her.

"Sh. Calm down, I guess it's nothing. When did she ever notice anything about how things are going for us?" Cal asked. "It's not like she is very perceptive or even cares about that."

Piper knew he was right. She was relieved that it was rather unlikely that her mom had noticed something but it made her sad that her mother didn't really care about what happened in their lives.

"What is it mom?" Piper asked when entering the kitchen.

"I just wanted to have a little chat with you." she started but clearly she had something in mind.

"Okay. about what, exactly?" Piper asked curiously.

"Well actually I wanted to inform you that I asked the Wiley's over for dinner this Friday and their son, he's about your age, is coming too. So I wanted you to know I want you to be there. Maybe you and Michael can talk a bit. Maybe you'll like him." Carol told her.

"Mom, I don't need you to set me up with someone if that's what this is about." Piper said a little shocked. She really didn't feel like getting to know anyone, not like this, and especially not with her mother's intention of getting her a boyfriend behind it.

"You will be there Piper. The Wiley's are a good and respected family. It will be good for us to connect with them." Carol explained.

"Urgh. Then you make friends with Mrs. Wiley. You don't need me to be Michael's girlfriend - is that what you intend with that?" Piper felt her anger rise.

"No need for a tone like that. And it wouldn't hurt you to give that boy a chance." Carol insisted.

"What if I already got someone that I like?" Piper asked her mom.

"That would be new to me. Is there someone? Please introduce him to us." her mother seemed surprised.

"More hypothetically." Piper tracked back. "I still can do that by myself. I don't need you setting up anything for me!"

"Dinner Friday is set and you will be there. No more discussion." Carol stated and turned away signaling Piper the end of conversation. It made Piper mad and angry. She had to get out, she couldn't stay with her mother at this moment. She grabbed her jacket and went outside and started walking. She didn't really have a set destination where she was headed but somehow found herself standing in front of the Vause's house. Obviously her subconscious had led her to Alex. She knocked and Diane opened.

"Piper! Alex didn't say anything about you coming over." she looked very surprised.

"Yeah, she didn't know and it wasn't actually intended, if that makes sense?! I just started walking and found myself right here." Piper tried to explain and Diane could see that she was upset about something.

"Well, come in. Alex isn't home at the moment but she should be back in about half an hour." Diane explained.

"It's okay, I can wait." Piper replied.

"What's up? Something is bothering you, I can see it." Diane gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Trouble with my mom. And thanks, but not right now." Piper replied and looked pretty devastated.

"I'll make you a cup of tea and whenever you are ready to talk about it you can come to me, okay?" Diane offered.

"Thank you." Piper smiled weakly at her. She sat there for a while. A bit later she heard the door open and hoped it was Alex. Diane saw Piper perking up a little from her down mood and was fascinated that her daughter caused that reaction.

"Piper!" Alex shouted when she saw her sitting on the couch. She gave her a big smile which seemed to lift Piper's mood a little but as soon as she saw the distress in Piper's eyes she asked "What's wrong Pipes?" she looked at her worried.

"My mom…" she answered. "Can we go to your room?" she asked quietly.

"Sure." Alex took Piper's hand and they went to her room.

"This is unexpected. But a good surprise." Alex said when they sat down. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I hate this!" Piper felt herself getting angry. Alex was shocked a little - she didn't mean… "I mean that I can't tell her about us. And now she planned a stupid dinner on Friday and invited some of their friends." Piper stopped.

"And that made you angry for what reason?" Alex asked.

"Because she forces me to be there! And she didn't invite the Wiley for no reason. They're bringing their son Michael who is apparently my age and he's the reason my mother invited them." Piper told her "Can you guess what she's up to?"

"Woah. What? Is she trying to set you up with that guy?" Alex looked at her shocked.

"According to her it wouldn't hurt to give him a chance because he's from a good family and it would be good for our family." Piper was clearly annoyed.

"What are you going to do?" Alex asked her.

"Well I can't not be there, mom made that very clear. I'll either have to endure this dinner or get really sick until then so I can stay in my room." Piper listed her options.

"You could fake to have a bad headache and feeling sick, cause you ate something wrong?" Alex proposed.

"I could try. I don't want to do this dinner." Piper said and leant into Alex. Alex hugged her and as always Piper felt a lot calmer in her arms.

"I have the feeling though, even if you manage to skip this dinner your mom won't set up more of these." Alex said.

"I got that feeling too. But I can't tell her about us, Al. I wish I could. I really do. Then all this trouble would be over. But I'm scared of the consequences." Piper replied almost mumbling it into Alex's crook of the neck as her head laid on Alex's shoulder.

"It's okay, Pipes. I totally understand that. I wouldn't either." Alex told her reassuringly and added half jokingly "Just promise me you won't ditch me for some stupid rich guy."

"Never!" Piper exclaimed. "I wouldn't. I love you." she hadn't thought about it. It was the first time she said those three words and for a moment she was shocked that they came out by accident, but it was the truth and she didn't regret saying it even though it wasn't planned.

"You do?" Alex was surprised by those words too. Her heart was beating so fast she couldn't believe she just heard Piper say it. "I love you too." she replied, not because she felt it was necessary after Piper said it but because it was true.

"Yes. I do. Believe me. I wouldn't do anything to sabotage this. I am so happy that we're together. I don't want to be with anyone else." Piper replied feeling excited too about hearing those three little words from Alex too. She looked at her and smiled. They moved closer and shared a sweet but very emotional kiss.

XXXXX

Friday was getting closer and Piper dreaded the dinner more and more. She had eventually come to the point that she wouldn't be able to fake being sick and would have to play along for the evening. Maybe SOMETHING good would come out of the evening. One shouldn't lose hope, right?

Piper was in her room and dressed for the dinner when she got a text. She looked at her phone and was happy to see that her girlfriend had texted her.

[Alex: Ready for the dinner or do you try to fake sickness?]

[Piper: Nah. I'll somehow try to survive the dinner.]

[Alex: Good luck then. I'm here if you need to talk.]

[Piper: Thanks. I love you.]

[Alex: I love you too]

When she was ready she went downstairs to greet the guests when they arrived. Piper intended to be the good daughter her parents expected her to be for tonight. She'd play along and hopefully things would get easier after that. Indeed the Wiley's arrived soon enough. They exchanged the usual welcomes and greetings and soon found themselves sitting at the dinner table. While they ate the topics were the typical things her mother usually talked about with her friends from her country club. Piper noticed that Michael next to her look as bored as she did. She decided to put both of them out of misery by starting a conversation.

"What did your parents force you with to come to a boring dinner like this?" she asked.

"Long story. But I learnt that it makes my life easier if I just play along and they'll leave me alone." Michael answered.

"Yeah, same here." Piper chuckled.

"You didn't have a choice as your parents host this dinner, right?" Michael asked.

"Well I could have faked a weird headache." Piper laughed. Somehow how he asked and said things had a weird twist to it so she felt at ease.

"I should have come up with an easy idea like that. Then I could be at home right now and do what I want." he seemed shocked he hadn't had an idea like that. "Why can't I be so clever?!"

"Well thanks for saving me from this. I am really not interested in the country club gossip." Piper replied.

"You're welcome." he smiled at her. "And it was you who started the conversation. So I should be thanking you."

Soon they were done with dinner and their parents moved to the living room.

"Do you want to join them?" Piper asked.

"Not really." was his answer.

"How about we go outside into the garden?" Piper suggested.

"Sure." he agreed.

Once they were outside both felt more relieved and free. No parents' ears listening in on what they said.

"It's nice and refreshing, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah. I need to tell you something though." Piper started. She wanted to make things clear so there weren't any misunderstandings.

"Shoot. I'm listening." he looked at her curiously.

"I know our parents really set this up so we get to know each other and maybe become boyfriend and girlfriend." he looked shocked. "What? It was obvious?!" Piper added, she couldn't believe he didn't see through their parents intention.

"Oh damn. I should have noticed that." he looked a little embarrassed.

"Well, anyway. I need you to know this isn't going to happen. My parents don't know it, and I have no intention of telling them soon, but I'm already dating someone." Piper told him directly.

"Alright. That's absolutely cool. You're nice and all, but I'm not really interested." Michael replied. "You want to know why?" Piper nodded and he whispered his answer into her ear. She was a little surprised, but didn't show it. He quietly added a "But please don't tell my parents."

"I promise, I won't. Okay, well then that's settled." Piper gave a small smile.

"Guess it is." Michael just returned.

"Do you think they will stop that, if we protest hard enough? Setting us up with other people?" Piper asked out loud.

"I don't know. So far I didn't have an idea that that was what's happening tonight. But I don't believe so." he scrunched his face as he realized that.

Piper seemed to think about it for a bit. "I might have a solution for that."

"What do you suggest?" he looked at her curious.

XXXXX

The following sunday Piper and Alex hung out and talked. Alex of course wanted to know how the dinner went on Friday. Piper didn't go into detail too much and just told Alex that it wasn't as boring as she thought it would and that she and Michael understood each other pretty well but they made it clear they weren't interested in anything closer.

Tuesday during lunch break Piper sat with Alex, Polly and Scott and ate her lunch.

"Hey. Would you like to go see 'Lost in the woods' tonight? I think it just came to cinemas last week and it sounds cool." Alex asked Piper.

"Can we do that tomorrow? I, uhm, I promised Michael to hang out." Piper said.

"Really?" Alex was surprised by that statement but added a mumbled "Sure, we can go tomorrow."

Piper of course noticed the change in her girlfriend's mood. Was this jealousy? No. Alex wouldn't get jealous.

"If you want you can come?!" Piper offered.

"Nah, thanks. I'm good." Alex replied. "I gotta go." she said and got up to empty her tray and left the cafeteria.

"Who is Michael and why is Alex so upset about you hanging out?" Polly asked her and Piper told her about the dinner on Friday and the agreement that she and Michael had made.

Meanwhile Alex found Nicky outside, one of the few times she found her friend not in a corner making out with her girlfriend.

"Hey, what's up, Vause? Trouble in paradise?" Nicky asked her.

"Hi, I don't know. Piper had this dinner on Friday where her parents tried to set her up with that guy from some fancy family. And she said they got along well and agreed that they weren't interested in going along with their parents plan. And now she's hanging out with that guy." Alex let out a frustrated sigh.

"And you are jealous, because you think he lied about not being interested?" Nicky wondered. She hadn't seen her friend like this.

"I'm not jealous!" Alex denied. "And please, who wouldn't be interested? Have you seen Piper? She is so beautiful, she's smart and kind and funny."

"I get that. But it really sounds like you're jealous. Maybe it's nothing. Talk to her about it." Nicky suggested.

"Yeah, who knows, right?" Alex replied still a bit upset.

Alex calmed down a little over the next few days and told herself that nothing happened between Michael and Piper and that she was just overreacting. But when she asked Piper to hang out on saturday and she got the same answer that Piper was already hanging out with Michael the anger and - she eventually admitted it - jealousy returned. Piper offered again that Alex could come, but Alex again declined.

Saturday afternoon Alex decided to go through the park as she really needed to get out of the house. She was still upset about Piper. When she got there she saw Piper walking through the park with whom she guessed was Michael. Even she had to admit that he was a pretty handsome guy which made her even more angry. They weren't walking too close but anything so close to Piper was not okay with Alex. She was a little surprised about herself. She'd never thought she'd ever be so possessive and jealous. But she was scared to loose Piper. With adrenaline fueling her anger she went up to them.

"Do you think what you're doing is right? Walking through this park and chatting like you're on a happy date?" she asked furiously.

"Alex. What…" Piper looked surprised. So surprised even she couldn't reply.

"Don't, Piper." she turned to Michael who looked at her surprised and a little shocked. "Did she tell you she had a girlfriend?"

"Uhm, yes. She did." he said almost defensively. "You must be Alex then." he held out a hand. Now it was Alex's turn to be surprised. "It is nice to finally meet the girl Piper can't shut up about."

"Oh. Then what is this?" she wanted to know.

"We made an arrangement to get our parents off our backs. Didn't you tell her?" Michael turned to Piper.

"I thought I did. But I must have forgotten an important part obviously." Piper seemed in thought. "Is this why you were grumpy all week? Because you thought there was something between Michael and I?" she asked Alex.

"Damn. I feel so stupid. I'm sorry." Alex was suddenly pretty nervous.

"It's okay, Alex. I'm sorry I obviously didn't tell you everything, I thought I did, and if the things were turned around my reaction would probably have been the same." Piper apologized. She stepped closer to Alex. "Are we okay?" Alex nodded and Piper happily threw her arms around her neck and kissed her tenderly.

"So would anybody tell me what this 'arrangement' is about?" Alex asked after they parted.

Piper told her. "Well, the evening of the dinner we talked for a while and while we got along quite well we both knew we weren't interested in each other romantically. We both also figured, that if we told our parents that, they wouldn't stop from trying to set us up with more people and that wouldn't make things easier. So we agreed to play fake boy- and girlfriend for our parents. I'm sorry I really thought I had said something about that on sunday but I obviously thought about how I would tell you so much that I thought I actually did." Piper looked at her with a very apologetic look.

"I forgive you. It wasn't the best week I've had, but you're forgiven. Just don't do that again, okay?" Alex smiled at her.

"I promise, I won't." Piper smiled back. "I love you."

"I love you too." Alex returned and kissed Piper sweetly.

"Ah, you lovebirds. You make me jealous." Michael mockingly complained from behind.

"Then get yourself a girlfriend." Alex suggested.

"Yeah. That's never going to happen." he chuckled.

"What? Why?" Alex looked at him surprised. "I doubt you have problems finding one."

"Yeah that's not the problem. The 'problem' there is: I am gay. So... " he replied.

"Oh. Okay." now Alex felt even more stupid and embarrassed for thinking that he wanted to steal her girlfriend. "I didn't know. Well then let's find you a boyfriend."

"As if that's so easy. You don't know who is gay. At this age most guys aren't out yet. I haven't told my parents which is one of the reasons why I agreed with Piper to fake a relationship. She seems to be in the same situation. How about you? Did you come out?" he asked Alex.

"Uhm, yes. First there was a rumour going around at school, so most people know there, and I told my parents about a year ago." Alex told him.

"Wow. That's brave. You must have a good relation to your parents, I guess." he sounded a bit envious. "Plus very accepting parents."

"Yeah. The best I could." Alex said almost proudly.

They kept talking about Piper and her growing up together and how Piper's parents found out about Alex being gay and the troubles following after. When it got later Michael said goodbye and Alex and Piper walked home. When they reached the Vause's house they stood in front of the door. Piper had to go home and even though it was time both girls didn't want to part.

"I'm sorry again, for thinking you would go out with him, when you promise you wouldn't." Alex said sounding rather insecure.

"Well, I hoped you'd trust me, but I gotta say sorry too for failing to tell you everything. I guess we both made a mistake. But it makes me kinda happy, we sorted it." she smiled at Alex.

"Yeah, me too. You are so beautiful and amazing that I sometimes fear I might lose you." Alex silently admitted and Piper was surprised to see her girlfriend so vulnerable.

"Alex. You don't have to be afraid. I love you. You are all I want. Nobody knows and understands me better than you do, nobody makes me feel the way I feel about you. You're the smartest, kindest, bravest and most loveable person I know. And I could add so many more amazing things to that list. Trust me, I'm the lucky girl that you want to be with me." Piper told her looking in her eyes and seeing the insecurity turning into love.

"Wow. I love you too, Pipes. I don't even know what to say…" she was truly speechless.

"You don't need to." Piper replied she leant in and they shared a very emotional kiss.

"I'll see you monday at school, I guess?" Alex asked. "Or hang out tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I wish we could see each other tomorrow, but my mom promised my grandma we'd all come to see her." Piper replied.

"It's okay. Have a great day with you grandma." Alex smiled.

"Thank you." Piper smiled back. They said goodbye and Piper walked home.

Alex turned to go inside but when she opened the door she ran into her mom.

"Oh, hey." she exclaimed surprised. Then she saw the tears in her mother's eyes. She looked rather happy. Why was she crying? "Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to listen in on you two. I was about to bring the trash out" she held up the bags in her hand. "when I heard you two talking outside. I didn't want to interrupt your moment, so I waited."

"Why are you crying then?" Alex was surprised.

"I'm just so happy for you. You both are so amazing together. And hearing Piper say those things I couldn't stop myself. I am so happy that you have someone who loves you like that. And even more because Piper is an amazing girl."

"Thanks mom. And yes, I feel like the luckiest and happiest girl on this planet." Alex smiled so widely that her cheeks hurt.


	19. Chapter 19: Birthday parties and threads

Chapter 19: Birthday parties and threads

A bit later it was Alex's birthday. Piper had spent a lot of time finding the perfect present for Alex. It was special this year, as it was the first birthday the celebrated together as girlfriends. So Piper wanted to get her something special. And she thought she had just found the thing.

Piper took ages to get dressed before she went over to Alex to celebrate her birthday. She wanted to look nice for her, but couldn't decide what exactly to wear. She eventually found one of her floral dresses that she thought fitted her and the sunny weather perfectly.

"Where are you going?" her mother asked as she walked towards the door.

"It's Alex's birthday. So I'd like to celebrate with her." Piper quickly answered and left before her mother could say another word. If she was up for a discussion or whatever she'd deal with that when she got back. Right now, all that she wanted was to see her girlfriend and celebrate her 15th birthday with her.

"Piper, come in." Diane greeted her when she arrived at the Vauses house and knocked.

Piper quickly found Alex and hugged her tightly. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, Pipes." Alex smiled widely and pulled Piper into a kiss.

"I brought you something." Piper divulged and held up her nicely wrapped present.

Alex's eyes went wide. She was super curious. She tried to open it slowly and not rip it completely. When the wrapping was gone a small box was revealed. She opened the box and found a silver necklace inside. Looking at it closer it had a pendant in form of a key. Engraved in it she could read 'Piper'. She smiled.

"I know, it's probably totally cheesy. But only you have the key to my heart. That's the reason for the key." Piper almost stuttered out. All of a sudden she was strangely nervous. She really hoped Alex liked it.

"It might be a little cheesy but I love it. Thank you." Alex gave her a big smile.

"That's great." Piper felt relieved.

Around six the rest of their friends came over. Lorna and Nicky arrived together and Mira one of Alex's classmates who had become her friend arrived a little later. The five of them went outside into the garden after dinner and Nicky had the idea of playing truth or dare, the response wasn't overly enthusiastic but the started playing nonetheless. They emptied a bottle and as Alex was the birthday girl she started spinning. It pointed at Piper.

"Truth." Piper said.

"I got a question for you." Nicky exclaimed.

"Well actually it is Alex's turn to ask as she spun the bottle, right?" Lorna interjected.

"Well, I don't have one right now. You know I'm not the biggest fan of that game." Alex said.

"Then I'll ask the question for you. Don't be a spoilsport." Nicky replied.

"I got the feeling that I'm going to regret this. But okay. Ask instead of me." Alex eventually agreed.

"Have you and Alex already, you know...done it." she asked directly.

Alex mumbled "I knew I'd regret it."

Piper blushed a little. "I don't see how this is any of your business."

"I take that as a no." Nicky smirked.

"You take that as a 'none of your business'." Alex agreed with Piper.

"You're both spoilsports, you know?" Nicky complained.

"Shut up, Nicky." Alex told her.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Wrong question. I'm just curious." Nicky apologized.

"Can we play something else?" Lorna asked.

"Yes please." Piper agreed.

They started a different game and they had more fun with those games than with truth or dare. As it got later everyone went home and it was about time Piper went home too.

"You could stay over, you know?" Alex offered.

"I wish I could. But I think mom is already waiting for me and the usual discussion." Piper replied.

"You told her you'd come here tonight?" Alex was surprised that Piper had told her mom the truth this time.

"Yes. I did. She knows it's your birthday, even if she pretends to not know it is." Piper explained. "So I guess she would have known anyway."

When she arrived home her mother was indeed waiting for her.

"Hi, mom." she greeted her not giving away that she was awaiting the discussion.

"Hello, Piper. Can we talk?" her mother asked as if she cared about the answer. She started speaking without awaiting Piper's reply. "How many times do we need to discuss this?"

"What? That you don't want me to see my best friend anymore? We grew up like sisters. She is one of the most important persons in my life. How can you ask me to just cut all contact?" Piper asked back getting angry at having this discussion over and over and over again.

"Because I don't want you to have contact with someone like her. Can't you see that I just want what's best for you? You know what other people are going to say if they hear about that? You have no idea what that does to your social standing! You have to think about things like that!" her mother argued.

"If my 'social status' forces me to give up my best friend, then I don't give a damn about it." Piper said.

"Piper Elizabeth Chapman. I won't have you talk like this!" Carol exclaimed shocked.

"This is not only about what others are saying? I don't believe, or I don't want to believe, that all people are so close-minded to talk bad about queer people. You're afraid Alex being gay will 'rub off' on me. That she'll turn me gay. Isn't it?" Piper voiced her assumption.

"Stop it. You will not see her again. I won't discuss this again with you. If I find out you are still in contact with her there'll be consequences! They have a very good, highly recommended boarding school about two hours from here. Don't make me send you there!" Carol threatened.

"You wouldn't!" Piper shouted in shock. She couldn't believe her mother would actually do it.

"Oh, I will!" she replied. "Now go to your room."

Piper ran into her room. She threw herself on her bed and started crying. This couldn't be happening. Her mother couldn't do this to her. She cried for what felt like ages until she fell asleep exhausted from the day, the fight with her mother and the crying.

She stayed in her room for most of the sunday and tried to read a bit but couldn't concentrate. She couldn't believe her mother had really threatened to send her to a boarding school. Yes, she herself had said to friends or her little brother that she might do that, but never really believed in it. Also so far it was just a thread but Piper didn't want to find out how serious Carol had meant it. When her phone rang and signaled a text message her thoughts were interrupted.

[Alex: Hey. Wanna come over and hang out?]

Piper smiled weakly. She would love that and it would definitely calm her and she'd feel so much better. But now that her mom had actually spoken the thread she had dreaded for quite some time now she was also scared she'd make it true.

[Piper: I would love to. But it's not a good time. Mom was furious yesterday. It's better if I stay home today.]

[Alex: What did she say?]

[Piper: I don't want to talk about it right now.]

[Alex: Can I help?]

[Piper: I guess not. Sorry.]

[Alex: Talk about it at school tomorrow?]

[Piper: Sure.]

Piper threw her phone back onto her bed. She turned on her headphones and put on some music. The silent and rather depressing music suited her mood pretty well and she just laid on her bed feeling sorry for herself and desperate. She didn't know what to do.

[Polly: Hey. Wanna come see a movie this afternoon?]

[Piper: Not in the mood. Sorry.]

[Polly: I didn't even say which movie…]

[Piper: Doesn't matter.]

[Polly: Everything alright?]

[Piper: I don't know.]

[Polly: I'll come over.]

[Piper: You don't have to.]

[Polly: Already on my way.]

Not too long later the door bell rung and she heard her mother shout through the house "Piper. Polly is here to see you."

Half a minute later it knocked at Pipers door.

"Come in, Pol." she said barely loud enough to be heard through the door. Polly looked a bit shocked when she saw her friend lying on her bed looking utterly depressed.

"What's wrong, Piper?" she looked at her worried.

"It's my mom." she started and felt tears rise. She still felt so angry thinking about their fight. Slowly and under tears she told her about Alex's birthday party and her fight with her mother after she came back home.

"Oh, fuck." Polly was shocked.

"And I really think she will do it. What am I going to do?" she cried out.

"Shh. We'll figure something out." Polly tried to calm her.

"I'll have three more years in school, Pol. How am I supposed to make it through 3 years being afraid that my mother finds out and sends me to this boarding school? And if she does, I won't ever see Alex." Piper sobbed.

"I don't know right now, but we'll think of something. You have all of your friends and everyone is going to help you and Alex get through this." Polly told her.

"Th-thank you." Piper calmed a little.

"You'd do it for your friends too." Polly played it down. Polly started talking about other things to take Piper's mind out of her situation for a while. And it worked. Piper felt a bit better. Polly went home just before Carol called everyone for dinner. At dinner everyone chatted about their day. Cal had been out in the woods with a friend and Carol told everyone about her meeting with friends from her country club. Piper just sat there ignoring everything. She was too depressed and sad to take part and tried not to think about it anymore, afraid she'd get angry at her mother again and shout at her at the dinner table.

The next morning when her alarm went off she Piper felt weird. She was all sweaty even though it wasn't too hot in her room. She felt pretty hot and begged it wasn't a fever. She quickly got a thermometer and it turned out she did have a bit higher temperature. Just then her mother came upstairs.

"You're not dressed yet, Piper?" she commented with a rather expectant look.

"No, I was checking something." she quickly replied.

"You look pale and not well. How are you feeling?" Carol asked looking at her.

"Okay." she said. Carol moved closer and held her hand on her forehead.

"You're feeling hot. Get a thermometer and check your temperature." she demanded.

"Damn." Piper whispered. She repeated it and showed her mother the result.

"Looks like you're staying at home today. I'll call the school." her mom said. "Go back to bed."

Piper slowly trotted back to her room and went back to bed. She took out her phone and texted Alex.

[Piper: Hey. I'm sorry. I'm not going to school today. See you tomorrow hopefully.]

She didn't have to wait long for an answer.

[Alex: What's wrong? Are you alright?]

[Piper: Caught something. I'm in bed with a fever.]

[Alex: Oh damn. Get well soon. I wish I could be there and help you.]

[Piper: I wish you were here too.]

[Alex: 3]

[Piper: I love you too. ;-)]

She quickly send Polly a text too.

[Piper: Won't be in school today. In bed with a fever. Will you tell Alex about my mom for me?]

[Polly: Sorry to hear that. Get well soon. Why don't you do it yourself tomorrow?]

[Piper: Not sure if I'm back tomorrow. I know she worries. I don't want want her to overthink it. Please?!]

[Polly: Okay. I will.]

[Piper: Thank you.]

XXXXX

When Alex got home that afternoon she felt so angry. She shortly said hello to her mom in the kitchen and went to her room shutting the door a bit more hefty than planned. Shortly later she heard a knock on her door.

"Yeah?" she asked. Diane took a step in. "Everything alright?"

"Yes. No. Urgh. It's frustrating." Alex answered annoyed.

"What is it honey?" Diane asked and sat down next to Alex on her bed.

"It's Piper. Well, not Piper but Carol. Piper told her on saturday that she'd come here to celebrate my birthday because she thought she'd figure out anyway and told her the truth. Yesterday I texted her if she wanted to hang out and something seemed wrong but she didn't want to talk about it. And today she couldn't tell me because she wasn't at school." Alex started explaining.

"And you're angry because she didn't tell you yet? Why wasn't Piper at school?" Diane cautiously asked.

"No. She is in bed because she caught something and has a fever. I'm angry for different reasons. Piper doesn't feel well and I'd like to be there for her, but I can't visit. I'm pretty sure Carol won't let me in. And she is the other reason I am angry. Polly told me today that she visited Piper yesterday and Piper told her what happened when she came back home on saturday. I know Piper already had a few discussions with her mother about her having contact with me. But Saturday they had that big fight and Carol threatened to send her to that boarding school two hours from here." she was so angry and mad that tears ran down her cheeks. "All just so Piper can't see me anymore! What am I supposed to do?" now she really started to cry. Diane was heartbroken to see her daughter like this. Now she started to get angry at Carol too. She wouldn't let her do that to her daughter.

"Oh, Alex. That must be hard. We'll figure something out." she tried to stay calm and not let Alex see her anger.

"But what?" Alex sobbed.

"We'll see. Give me some time to think about it and talk to your dad." Diane replied.

"Okay." Alex quietly said after she had calmed down a little.

"Do you want a tea? It'll warm you up and make you warm and cozy." Diane asked as she stood up.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." Alex said but quickly changed her mind as she had an idea. "Or maybe yes. Can I have it in a Thermos bottle?"

"Sure." Diane gave back wondering why.

Alex however quickly got dressed, collected a few things, took the tea from her mother with a quick "Thank you. See you later!" and left.

XXXXX

Piper was half dozing off when she heard a knock at her window. She was confused but looked out and was surprised to see a well-known face. She opened and let Alex in.

"Hey, crazy girl. What are you doing here?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey, Pipes. I brought you some tea and some cookies. I wanted you to feel better." Alex explained.

"That's so sweet. Thank you. I already feel so much better just because you are here. But what if my mother saw you outside or sees you here?" Piper was touched by her girlfriends gesture but also a little scared.

"I was very careful while sneaking in and I'll be very careful when I'll go home. And I think your closet is big enough for me to hide in it." Alex told her and handed her some cookies that Piper gladly took.

"I hope that was enough. I'm scared my mom was serious about her thread. Polly told you everything, right?" Piper asked and Alex nodded. "I wouldn't know how to do this. I don't want to be so far away from you and not see you almost everyday."

"I don't want that either. But who would I be if I didn't take care of my sick girlfriend?" Alex smiled at her.

"You're such a good girlfriend." Piper smiled at her genuinely.

"You'd do the same for me." Alex tried to relativize it.

"Definitely. I would. Thank you for the tea. It really helps. Also having you close helps." Piper smiled happily. "I love you."

"I love you too, Pipes." Alex said and moved closer. She felt the urge to kiss her girlfriend but Piper moved away.

"It's not that I don't want to. But I don't want to make you sick too. I don't want you to feel like this." she explained.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Alex admitted even though she really wanted to kiss her.

Just then they heard someone coming up the stairs. Alex quickly hid in the closet, Piper hid the cookies and tea underneath her bed. And everything happen just in time before her mother came in.

"Hey. Everything okay? How do you feel?" she asked.

"Better, actually." Piper answered shortly.

"Good. Call me if you need anything." Carol said and left.

"Thanks. I will." Piper said loud enough so her mom could hear her outside.

When everything was quiet again Alex came back out.

"Whew. That was close!" Piper said a little shocked.

"Yeah. But I don't think she noticed anything." Alex agreed.

"I doubt she did." Piper chuckled.

The two of them kept talking for a while until it was time for Alex to go home. While she slowly made her way out of the window they said goodbye.

"Be careful. Let no one see you and please don't fall off the roof." Piper said anxiously.

"I made it up here and back down safely for a couple times already, Pipes. I'll be okay." Alex smiled at her. "And I'll do my best ninja impression of being invisible." That made Piper laugh. "Yes. Mission accomplished. Put a smile on your beautiful face." Alex smiled too.

Piper laughed. "I'm not sure if I'll be at school tomorrow, but if not I'll do my best to be back on Wednesday. See you then?" she asked her hopeful.

"Yes, sure. Looking forward." Alex whispered and started to climb down.

"Bye. I love you." Piper whispered as Alex got out of sight. She could hear a very quiet "I love you too." and her girlfriend was gone.

That night she slept rather fitful and dreamt the craziest things. When she woke in the morning she didn't really feel rested at all. As much as she had wanted to, she didn't feel ready for school. She used her second day off to sleep as much as she could, read her book and text with Alex and her friends. Even though she was still afraid that her mother would make her thread come true she was more optimistic than couple days ago that whatever the future would bring that she and Alex would make it through almost anything.


	20. Chapter 20: Good and bad days

Chapter 20: Good and bad days

Piper hated that she had to be extra cautious around her mom. It was exhausting to keep up with the things she told her. And when it was her birthday she was very annoyed that Alex couldn't be at her party. The afternoon was over and Piper felt truly bored. Her family was there and a few friends including Polly. Around 5 Polly came to her asking her to come with her. At first she was confused but then her mom came to her saying she could leave and wished her fun the confusion but also curiosity grew.

"What is going on?" Piper asked.

"Well I told your mom that I organized a surprise party so you could celebrate with your friends." Polly told her.

"Is this where we are going?" Piper wanted to know.

"Not exactly." Polly replied. They walked until they stood in front of the house where Alex lived. "There is no party. But I knew you wanted to celebrate with Alex too."

Piper was surprised to say the least. She was so happy that her friend was so thoughtful.

"Thank you, Polly. Yes, I really wanted that. This is the best birthday present. You're the best." she hugged her tightly.

"And I hoped I had the best present for you today." she heard from behind and turned around to see Alex standing in the doorframe.

"Alex!" Piper smiled widely.

"Bye, you two." Polly said and turned to go.

"Bye. And thank you for bringing her here." Alex told her thankfully.

"No problem." Polly answered.

The two girlfriends looked at each other and smiled.

"Happy Birthday, Pipes." Alex said and kissed Piper.

"Thank you." Piper smiled and felt giddy with excitement.

"Come on in." Alex said and let her in. As Piper entered everyone else wished her happy birthday too and she saw that the Vauses even decorated for her. So obviously this had been planned.

"Thank you all. This is so amazing." Piper smiled widely.

"Well come over here and get some cake." Diane called her over.

"You made a cake for me?" Piper exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course. How many times do I need to tell you that you're like a second daughter to me. And for your children you make a cake on their birthday." Diane simply explained.

"Thank you, Diane." Piper smiled widely.

They had a great little party and Piper was so happy that she was so welcome in the Vause family that she sometimes felt more related to them than to her actual family sometimes. She felt bad for feeling like this, but she couldn't change it. She felt so much more accepted and free to be herself around Alex's family than her own that she often wished her own family would be more like the Vauses. The evening went by way too fast for her liking and she was happy that Polly had told her parents she'd be back the next day, which meant she could stay over tonight. Soon Alex and Piper went to Alex's room for some time alone.

"Hey." Alex smiled at Piper as if right now their evening had only just begun.

"Hey." Piper smiled back. She was still waiting for Alex to give her her birthday present.

"I still have something for you." Alex almost whispered to Piper.

"I believe so." Piper chuckled. "You better have."

"Please, you think I would forget to get you a birthday present?" Alex looked at her with her signature smirk on her face that always managed to throw Piper off her feet completely.

"N-no, of course not." she tried to keep up their light tone and banter but failed due to being completely flustered. She felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Alex was amazed by Piper's reaction. It intrigued her that she could get Piper to lose her composure so quickly.

"You're so cute, you know that?" Alex chuckled.

This made Piper blush again. "Ah, stop it."

"It's the truth." Alex said like it was common knowledge. She pulled Piper closer and kissed her. It soon turned into more and they found each other laying on Alex's bed with hands all over. After a not so short make out session Piper broke away.

"Wasn't there something you wanted to give me?" she looked at her girlfriend with the glow in her eyes that Alex loved.

"I thought that was what I was doing?!" she teased Piper.

"So really making out on your bed is my birthday present? Then we can't do this anymore because I'm already like 24 according to the amount of birthday presents I got recently." Piper challenged her. "And it would really be inappropriate for you to make out with a woman that much older than you."

"Touché." Alex laughed. "I don't have a comeback for that right now."

"Then how about my real birthday present?" Piper laughed too.

"Okay okay." Alex returned and handed her a wrapped present. Piper took it and unwrapped it.

"Happy birthday, Pipes." Alex said and went on explaining what she had gotten her. "I know it looks like an empty journal right now. But as you can see I already put some photographs in there and wrote down a few things. I thought we could make it our 'picture diary' where we keep the important things and pictures to remember in."

"That's a great idea. Thank you Alex." Piper smiled widely and pulled her girlfriend in again to kiss her.

After a while and another long make out session the two fell asleep in each others arms. The next morning they were woken with an amazing smell of fresh pancakes and chocolate. After the breakfast Piper unfortunately had to go home but she had enjoyed her birthday party at the Vauses a lot. A lot more than the one her parents arranged if she was honest.

The next weeks went by without anything much happening. Piper and Alex saw each other at school and sometimes during the afternoons when Piper could escape her house without being questioned by her mother about where she went. About two months after her birthday she came home from a walk in the park with Alex when her mother was waiting in the kitchen for her.

"Piper? Is that you?" she shouted from the kitchen when she heard someone come home.

"Yes. It's me." Piper replied.

"Come to me please. We need to talk." her mother went on.

"What is it?" she looked at her curiously when she came into the kitchen.

"I'm a bit disappointed." Carol started. "Not just a little, to be honest. I can't believe you would still do that." Piper looked at her confused. "My friend Barbara and I went for a little walk in the park today. And guess who we saw…"

Piper went pale. No. They had always been so careful. Her mother never went just for a walk. "I… uhm, who?" she tried. Maybe she had been there at another time.

"Piper, you know exactly who I mean. It was you and Alex. How many times did I tell you that I don't want you to see her anymore?" Carol started to get angry.

"Mom. She is my best friend. She is the most important person in my life. I can't just not see her. Have you any idea, what that would do to me?" Piper was scared but couldn't just give in and say she wouldn't do it again. That would have meant that she needed to break up with Alex and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Of course, Carol ignored her argument.

"I'm going to have to stay true to my promises. I'll have a registration form from the school I mentioned send to us and you'll go there. You should know, I'm not one for empty promises." Carol said plainly.

"No, mom. Please. Don't do this to me." Piper begged. Piper was very close to crying.

"I told you last time we had this discussion. It's too late Piper. Think about next time you feel like not obeying my rules." Carol gave back. "End of discussion."

"But mom." Piper felt tears run down her face. Carol didn't react and Piper ran upstairs to her room.

She collapsed on her bed and started crying uncontrollably. After a while she was so exhausted she felt like there were no more tears. She got her headphones and turned on some music to take her away from her misery. She turned it up extra loud hoping it would shut down her thoughts completely that had gotten darker every minute. She heard one song that she felt fitted her emotional state perfectly, because even if she was mad at her mother for doing this to her, she didn't want to give up. She'd fight for herself and for Alex and their chance to be together. She send the song to her girlfriend.

XXXXX

Alex sat in her room when Diane came in. "Hey. We're about to eat. You're ready?"

"I'll be there in a minute." Alex replied. She quickly finished the homework she was doing and went downstairs.

"How was everyone's day?" Diane asked when everyone was sitting.

"We started a new project." Louis started and told everyone about the new book project the library had started with his second grade students. Then Felix said his class had taken this sports exam that day and he had been second place to which everyone congratulated him.

"Not a really eventful day for me. School, some homework." Alex just said. "Piper was pretty busy so I didn't see her at school. But we went for a little walk in the park after school. That was nice."

"Great. Sounds like everyone's day had been quite good." Diane summed up.

"How about yours ma?" Felix asked.

Just then Alex's phone beeped. "Sorry." she looked at it and saw it was from Piper. She'd read it after dinner.

"Piper?" Diane smirked.

"Why? Because she would be the only one to text me?" Alex asked curiously.

"No. But no one else makes you smile like that." Diane gave back.

"Okay, accepted, Sherlock." Alex smiled.

"Everything okay?" Diane wanted to know.

"I didn't read it yet. I thought I'd wait until after dinner." Alex explained.

"Admirable self-restraint." Diane said.

Dinner was soon over and as she got up Alex opened Pipers text only to notice she had send her a song. What was this about? She was curious and got her headphones to listen to it.

They left me stranded in the dark

And tore the thread back to your heart

A thousand bullets fill the sky

And once again divide

Are you lonely where you are?

The world is trying to change us

From lovers into strangers

Don't let them pull us out of touch

I would run through the fire

And crawl under the wire

If you're thinking that your hope is lost

Don't shut me out

Don't cut me off

Even if it's one in a million

I'm still believing

Every battle can be won

Don't shut me out

Don't cut me off

Don't you know that the truth hits hardest

The night is the darkest

Right before the break of dawn

Another bridge is left to burn

So many lessons never learned

But we have freedom in our minds

Light in troubled times

'Til better days return

The world is trying to change us

From lovers into strangers

So close and yet so far apart

I would run through the fire

And crawl under the wire

Until I get to where you are

Don't shut me out

Don't cut me off

Even if it's one in a million

I'm still believing

Every battle can be won

Don't shut me out

Don't cut me off

Don't you know that the truth hits hardest

The night is the darkest

Right before the break of dawn

The world is trying to change us

From lovers into strangers

Don't let them pull us out of touch

I am running through the fire

And crawling under wire

Don't tell me that your hope is lost

Don't shut me out

Don't cut me off

Even if it's one in a million

I'm still believing

Every battle can be won

Don't shut me out

Don't cut me off

Don't you know that the truth hits hardest

The night is the darkest

Right before the break of dawn

Don't shut me out

Don't cut me off

Alex was confused. Why would Piper send her a song like this?

[Alex: Pipes, what is this about?]

[Piper: Mom is sending me to the boarding school.]

"NO." Alex exclaimed and Diane looked at her daughter and saw how her face scrunched up and tears started to fall.

[Alex: Why?]

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked her anxiously. Alex played her the song. She didn't know what to say.

"Carol is sending Piper to that boardings school." Alex told her mother sobbing.

[Piper: She saw us walking in the park.]

"Oh, no. Why?" Diane asked and Alex showed her Piper's text as response. "Oh fuck."

"Mom, you aren't allowed to say that word if we aren't!" Felix shouted from the living room. Diane ignored it for now. She was speechless. She had known Carol for so many years but started to feel like she never really did. She couldn't believe how she could do that to her own daughter. Diane pulled Alex in a hug. It broke her heart to see Alex hurting like that.

"I have to go see her." Alex sobbed out and let go of her mother.

"Alex, I don't think it's a good idea to go over right now." Diane said.

"I'm not gonna ring at the door. It's not the first time I snuck in to see Piper." she admitted.

"Really?" Diane looked at her surprised. It was quite sweet but also pretty risky.

"It's not that hard to get onto the little porch roof in front of Piper's window." she explained. Just then they heard the bell ring. They looked at each other. Nobody expected a guest. Louis, who didn't know anything about the whole thing yet opened the door and let their unexpected guest in. Alex and Diane went into the hallway to see who it was and as soon as Alex saw the blonde hair she ran towards Piper and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I-I'm s-sor-ry. I-I d-d-didn't know w-where els-se t-to g-go." she stuttered still crying.

"Sh. Everything will be fine. You can come here anytime." Alex tried to calm her a little but really felt like crying too.

Diane smiled weakly. "Come in, sit down. I'll make you a tea, it'll calm you down a bit."

"Thanks." Piper sobbed.

Piper and Alex sat on the couch for a while while Piper tried to calm down. Diane brought her a tea and after a bit Piper felt a lot calmer already, even if she was still upset.

"Can I stay here?" Piper asked quietly.

"Sure." Alex replied and turned to her mom. "She can, right?"

"Yeah. As long as it takes to solve this." Diane replied. She had already made up her mind to have a word with Carol the next day. She wouldn't let her do this.

"I'm going to call your parents. They're probably worried about where you went." Diane said.

"I'm pretty sure they haven't even noticed I'm not home. So… you don't need to." Piper replied. She didn't care what her mother would think. She wanted her to worry and be upset.

"I'll do it anyway, Piper. You'll understand one day when you have kids." Diane said and got up.

Alex and Piper stayed cuddled up in each other on the couch. They heard Diane talk to Carol.

"Hi, Carol. It's Diane. I just wanted to… Yes. She's here, she's upset. … No. I won't send her home. .. Because you both need to calm down a little and then we can talk about it. … Carol, the girl is old enough to make decisions for herself. … No, you know what? I won't discuss this over the phone. We'll all calm down a little, sleep over it and then we can talk tomorrow or whenever everyone is ready to have a calm, productive conversation about this. … Please, Carol, stay reasonable. …. Okay. Goodnight. See you tomorrow." Diane hung up.

"She wasn't really a fan of my choice of where to stay, right?" Piper tried but the intended joke didn't come out as wanted.

"You think?" Diane chuckled lightly. "Okay, you two. You have school tomorrow, so it's time to go to bed. We can talk about this further tomorrow when everyone is rested and a little calmer, okay?" Both Alex and Piper nodded and got up to go to Alex's room and get ready to sleep.

When they were laying next to each other Piper already felt a lot calmer and more hopeful that things would be alright.

"Why can't my mother be a bit more like yours?" Piper quietly said.

"We can't all be so lucky." Alex didn't really know what to say.

"I don't know what to do, Al." Piper said. She felt like she had nothing she could do to avert this disaster.

"We won't find a solution right this minute I guess, but you got all of us behind you. We'll think of something. Maybe together we can convince your mother, that sending you away isn't the best idea." Alex said half to calm Piper and half to convince herself.

"I can't go there, Al." Piper replied. "I don't want to be so far away from you."

"Me neither, Pipes. Even if I could get my drivers license and visit you whenever I could. That'll just be another ten months until it's possible." Alex told her and kissed her on her temple.

"Promise me, that whatever will happen, if I have to go there or not, everything will be fine with us? We'll make it through this?" Piper turned and looked at her anxiously.

"I promise, I'll do anything to see you, be near you and to be with you. I love you, Pipes." Alex reassured her. That made Piper smile and Alex happy to see her girlfriend more hopeful. She loved that smile.

"I love you too." Piper replied and they shared a short but sweet kiss before both decided it was time to sleep and so Piper fell, feeling quite content, asleep in Alex's arms.

The next morning they were woken by Diane and told to get ready for school. When they walked towards the school they were both too tired to really say something. Alex though noticed that her girlfriend was probably thinking about the talk she and Carol would need to have later. Diane was calling her later asking her to come over to find a solution. Piper and Alex would come back together from school and they'd hopefully have a productive discussion with Carol that wouldn't end with Piper being send to the boarding school.

"What if she sends me there?" Alex heard Piper ask. It was so quiet she almost didn't hear it.

"Then we'll figure something out together. Let's hope it won't happen but if it does this doesn't change how we feel for each other. We'll find a way to make it work. We won't see each other as often as now but I won't let that get in the way of us being together." Alex explained.

"It's gonna be so hard. I don't want to lose what we have, but how are we going to do this?" Piper had always had her doubts about long distance relationships. She just couldn't imagine a relationship could work if you couldn't see each other and be with together as often as you can or want to.

"I know it'll be hard. But don't you think it's worth fighting for us?" Alex asked.

"I do think it is. But can you understand that I got my doubts that long distance relationships work?" Piper wanted to know.

"I can understand. But who couldn't do that if not us? I love you Piper. And I know I always will. We've known each other since the days we were born. We've always been together, as friends and now as girlfriends. Whatever comes, I don't want to imagine a day of my life without you in it." Alex let her know.

"Oh, that's so sweet." Piper smiled widely. It made her happy hearing Alex say that. "And I feel the same."

They arrived at the school and went to their classrooms. Neither of them could really concentrate on their lessons as both were still trying to figure out what to do and what would happen if they couldn't convince Carol to let Piper stay at this school. When they walked home together they were both too tense to start a conversation. When they arrived home they expected Carol to be there but she wasn't. Diane told them that Carol didn't want to come over so they'd go to Piper's home to have a conversation with her. Alex wanted to come but Diane denied, saying it wouldn't be a good idea. It was literally the first time Piper saw Alex arguing with her mother. When they arrived at the Chapman's house Piper was so nervous she felt sick and her hands started shaking.

"I don't know if I can do this, Diane." Piper stuttered anxiously.

"Honey, you can't run from this. She's your mother and we need to discuss this." Diane tried to reason.

"But what if she really sends me there?" Piper asked.

"Well, we're here to avoid that, right? Stay optimistic." Diane told her.

It didn't completely convince Piper but she felt a little bit more hopeful. They went in.

While Diane went straight to find Carol Piper tried to avoid her mother. She soon heard that Diane obviously found her as the voices got louder. Clearly they had started the discussion. Piper felt bad that she let Diane go to her mother alone but she felt frozen and like her feet were connected to the floor. She couldn't move, she was too scared. Then something happened that had happened rather rarely recently: her dad came home earlier.

"What is going on?" he asked Piper.

Piper explained that Diane was here discussing with Carol that Piper shouldn't go to the boarding school and about Alex. Bill was surprised to say the least. He had had a lot of "work", at least that's what he said, and wasn't home much. He knew that Alex was gay and that his wife wasn't very accepting of that, but he had missed the whole discussion and threads between Carol and Piper. He apologized to Piper that he had been so absent, "but there were many things coming at me at once at work" and would have a word with her mother. Piper doubted that would happen soon when her mother and Diane came into the hallway, still arguing loudly but stopping as soon as they saw Bill.

"Stop this." he said commanding. "Carol, I need to talk to you. Obviously I have missed a few things around here."

Carol and Bill went to the kitchen for the discussion and closed all doors demonstratively so no one would follow. Diane and Piper stood in the hallway looking at each other anxiously. It took a while but then Carol returned from the kitchen and explained what they had discussed, probably leaving out a few things. Long story short Piper would not go to the boarding school and Carol would work on accepting her friendship with Alex and Alex's homosexuality. That was the best outcome Piper could have hoped for. That meant maybe someday in the not so far future Alex would be able to visit her and not by climbing through the window. But that wasn't a thing to bring up right now. Piper wanted to give her mother some time to accept it and when she seemed to be okay with it ask her if Alex could come over. She smiled widely showing her happiness.

"Thank you, mom." she said honestly grateful and did something she hadn't done in a long time: hug Carol. Who seemed to be completely surprised by this but soon returned the hug and was happy herself.

_**Hey everyone. Thanks for everyone who is still reading this and especially to those who make the effort to leave a review. I always like hearing what everyone thinks. So please keep them coming. Also if you have ideas what you would like to read, let me know, if I like it, I might add it to the story. I can't promise but I will definitely think about it. The song lyrics used in this chapter are from the song "Out of Touch" by Michael Patrick Kelly. _


	21. Chapter 21: Acceptance

Chapter 21: Acceptance

Carols new acceptance made it so much easier for Piper and Alex, even though Piper was still sceptical about her mother's sudden turn and her intentions. But at least she didn't have to lie anymore when she went to see Alex. She noticed an uncomfortable look on her mother's face but she never argued about it with Piper. To keep her mom 'satisfied' she still met with Michael regularly and often Alex came along too. The three had grown to be friends. They waited for a few weeks to let her mother settle in with everything until she asked if it was okay that Alex came over and even if Carol didn't seem to like the idea very much, she agreed.

"Hi." Piper smiled widely when she opened the door to let Alex in.

"Hi yourself." Alex returned. "It's been a while since I came to visit through the front door."

"I know. Too long." Piper laughed.

Alex greeted Carol, who came into the hallway. Carol managed a small Hello and went back to the kitchen.

"Well, that was something." Alex said and they went to Piper's room.

"Ignore her. She just needs a bit more time. Crazy, considering how much time she already had, but I don't want to ask too much too fast." Piper said.

"It's okay, Pipes. I'm happy already I can come over again and we don't always have to meet at my place." Alex tried to calm her.

"Yeah. But there we don't have to be careful not to be seen doing things couples do." Piper argued.

"I know." Alex was aware of the situation. "But let's not discuss this right now. How do you feel about watching a movie?"

"I'd like to watch one. Suggestions?" Piper welcomed the topic change. They took a while until they agreed on a movie and then started watching seated next to each other on Piper's bed. After the movie ended Alex got up to get something. Piper was shortly confused.

"Happy 6 month anniversary, Pipes." Alex smiled and handed her a rose and some sweets that were tied to it.

"Oh, wow. Thank you, Al. Happy anniversary to you too. I feel bad, I didn't get you anything." Piper said blushing.

"It's okay, Pipes." Alex replied.

"Yeah, but…" Piper started. "It doesn't matter." Alex interrupted her. "You're all I need. You make me happy." They closed the distance and kissed.

"I can't believe it's already six months." Piper said.

"Time flew by like nothing, that's right." Alex agreed. "But it's been the best six months I had. Except for the boarding school scare." they both laughed. They were now laying next to each other on Pipers bed and enjoyed being so close. As everytime she was close like this with Alex Piper felt her whole body tingle. She loved the warm feeling she had every time she was with Alex, as well as the excitement and the butterflies that still went crazy every time her girlfriend touched her or they were close like this. They started kissing and it soon turned from sweet and innocent into rougher more passionate kisses. After awhile they broke apart both breathing heavily. Hands were roaming different body parts and sometimes one of them snuck underneath a shirt.

"S-sl-slow down." Piper managed to breath out during kisses.

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry if I.." Alex started to apologize thinking she had done something to make Piper feel uncomfortable but got quieted by Piper immediately.

"Shh. I'm just afraid, mom is gonna come check if we are okay, and…" she started.

"It's okay, Pipes. I understand." Alex said. They both turned onto their backs trying to calm after their heavy make out.

"Can I ask you something?" Piper asked quietly after a while and Alex could hear the insecurity in her voice.

"Sure. Anything." Alex turned towards Piper and looked at her trying to convey all the love she felt for her.

"I mean, I know, I'm not your first girlfriend, and I don't want to assume anything, but the more I think about it the crazier my head goes and…" Piper started to ramble which only showed even more how nervous she suddenly was.

"Shh. Piper. Calm down. Slow down a little. Straighten the thoughts in your head for a minute and then ask me what you wanted to know. And you know you can ask me anything. You don't need to be so nervous." Alex tried to help her but was getting really curious what Piper's question was if she was getting so nervous to ask.

"Easier said than done." Piper replied but seemed to calm a little. "Have you ever, you know, done it?"

Alex was a little amused by Piper's nervosity to ask that question but didn't show it. "Uhm, no. And it's only been one girlfriend and we didn't go that far." she answered truthfully. Piper seemed somehow relieved to hear that. "How about you?" Alex asked back.

"Uhm, neither. Not for the lack of opportunity or that they didn't want to, but I wasn't ready." Piper quietly explained.

"Pipes, we can take this as fast or slow as we want to. We'll explore this together. Which I think is a great thing. We don't have to do anything one of us isn't ready for." Alex calmly said.

Piper smiled at her. "Cool. Because I know I want to do this with you for the first time, but I don't know if I'm ready yet."

"Don't worry. Whenever you are ready." Alex replied and kissed her sweetly. They kept laying there for a while and kept talking about everything they had going on at the moment until Alex had to go home.

XXXXX

Few weeks later Alex, Piper, Nicky and Lorna were outside in the schoolyard and were chatting. Piper told them how the situation with her mom had settled down completely and how she slowly came around to not saying anything bad anymore about Alex or in general queer people. Nicky had been pretty quiet the whole morning and the friends started to wonder what was going on. Usually they had to stop Nicky so they could say something but today she didn't say anything.

"Hey. Who are you? What have you done with my friend Nicky?" Alex asked looking at her friend.

"What?" Nicky was a little confused as to why Alex would ask her that.

"You usually don't stop blabbing. You're awfully quiet today. What's wrong?" she explained.

"Oh I'm not sparkly enough today? Tell you what. Nothing." Nicky replied. "Anyway, I gotta get going." and with that she was gone. The three friends stood there flabbergasted.

"What was that?" Piper was the first to say something.

"I have no idea. Something is up and I don't know why she won't say anything." Alex replied and turned to Lorna. "Do you know anything?"

"No. I don't have a clue." the younger girl answered.

"I thought maybe at least she told her girlfriend what's bothering her." Alex said.

"No." Lorna said sounding a little sad. She indeed felt bad that her girlfriend didn't talk about it with her.

The break was over pretty soon and everyone went separate ways to their classrooms. When school was over Piper ran into Alex in the yard.

"Hey. I wanted to go swimming this afternoon, do you want to come?" Piper asked her girlfriend.

"I would love to but I want to see if Nicky maybe wants to talk about whatever this is." Alex replied. She didn't like saying no to the offer of seeing Piper in a bikini, but her friend needed her and she wanted to be a good friend and be there for Nicky.

"Yeah, she really behaved weirdly today. Do you want to go alone or do you think it's better if you speak with her alone?" Piper asked.

"I think it's better if I go alone. I'll let you know later, okay?" Alex told her.

"Okay." Piper agreed.

They said goodbye and went different directions. When they met at school the next day Alex told her about her talk with Nicky and how she didn't want to admit at first that there was something bothering her but eventually opened up to tell her. Obviously Nicky's parents were filing for divorce and even though Nicky didn't have the best relationship with them it upset her a lot. She didn't really want to admit that it hurt her as she liked to play the invincible, strong woman no one could hurt, but her friends noticed it and promised to do their best to support her and help her through it.

XXXXX

Couple weeks later Nicky's situation hadn't changed much and every now and then she again was in a rather foul mood. Piper and Alex both tried their best to take her thoughts off her parents divorce and their regular fights but it only sometimes worked. One weekend Piper and Alex were sitting in the diner and had just finished eating. Alex wondered what was going on with Piper since she wasn't as talkative the whole evening.

"Pipes, would you tell me what is going on? You have been in a weird mood for a couple days and it slowly starts worrying me. I hoped you'd tell me when you're ready. I want to help you but you need to talk to me in order for me to do so." Alex said.

"I'm sorry. I'm confused myself." Piper started.

"About what?" Alex asked.

"Nicky's situation, my parents and yeah, basically that's it." Piper explained.

"Pipes, do I need to keep asking or can you tell me what is bothering you?" Alex tried to stay patient but was a little annoyed Piper would just give her bits of information which didn't explain what was going on.

"Sorry. I'm just trying to get my thoughts in order so they make sense, you know?" Alex nodded. "I totally get that Nicky is upset about her parents having a divorce and I can imagine that it is horrible if your parents fight all the time."

"I get that. Completely. But since when is Nicky's situation upsetting you so much?" Alex wondered. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I care about her a lot and I know this is a terrible situation but it seems to bother you bit more than just because you feel sorry for a friend, if I'm getting it right?!"

"You're right." Piper admitted. "It made me think. About my parents and their situation."

"Why? What's wrong with your parents? I thought everything was fine?!" Alex was surprised. She knew Piper didn't have the best relationship with her mother and her dad was absent a lot but this was news. "Are you scared they'll divorce?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I think maybe that would be a good thing. If they got divorced. Is it bad for me to think that? I shouldn't want something like that." Piper said.

"You want that your parents get a divorce?" Alex looked at her wide eyed.

"No?! I don't know. It's just a weird situation at home. I can't remember when they last talked with each other. Dad is out most of the time and remember when I told you how I saw him with someone couple years ago?" Piper went on after Alex affirmed "And I think that's the reason for all of his late night 'business dinners' that he says he has to go to. And mom knows. It's the only reason that explains her drinking all of the time. That or she's an alcoholic, which I'd rather not think of."

"Woah, I had no idea, Pipes. Why didn't you say something earlier?" Alex was surprised by her girlfriends depictions.

"I tried to ignore it, but now with Nicky I can't…" Alex noticed tears running down Piper's face and she immediately scooted closer next to her and hugged her tightly.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm here for you. Always." Alex whispered into her ear.

"Thank you." Piper replied. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Pipes." Alex returned. "Do you want me to talk to my mom about it, maybe she can talk about it with Carol?"

"Mhm. I don't know. Give me some time to think about all this, okay?" Piper told her.

"No problem. And if anything happens or worries you, you know I'm just a call away and I can be at your door in about ten minutes." Alex offered.

Piper smiled at her. "You're the best girlfriend I could have asked for, you know that, right?"

"Aww, don't go all soft on me. But yes. I know. You aren't that bad either." Alex smirked and connected their lips for a short kiss.

During the next couple days the topic came up every now and then but Piper couldn't really determine what she wanted her parent to do. The only thing she knew was that she wanted something to change because she hated the current situation.

"Alex?!" Piper called while they sat in the library studying for their test the next week.

"Yeah?" Alex looked up.

"I thought about what you offered last week. That we tell Diane and she talks to my mother. I think it's a good idea. But could I tell her everything?" Piper told her.

"Sure. Do you want to come over this afternoon?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." Piper agreed and they went on studying.

"Hey, nerds." Nicky sat down next to them.

"Cause you are so smart you never have to learn?!" Alex gave back.

"Whatever. I actually am here to invite you two over this weekend, if you feel like a little get together at my place." Nicky told them.

"Yeah, sure." they both agreed in unison and laughed.

"You are sure you two aren't twins?" Nicky asked incredulously.

"Come on, Nick, you've known us for most of our lives. Don't you think you'd know that by now?" Piper chuckled.

"Just wondering." Nicky replied a little absentmindedly.

"Anyway. How's it going with your parents?" Alex cautiously asked.

"Not better really. They finally stopped fighting but only because they stopped talking to each other completely. I hope they actually went to a lawyer to get that divorce. I don't even care anymore right now. I'm just a little pissed that'll be me and my mom then because obviously my dad is the one moving out. And I'm not sure if me and my mom alone in that house is a good idea. Not like she cares if I'm there or not." Nicky ended her description.

"Well eventually they had to make steps forward, right?!" Piper said "And if it ever gets too much with your mother, you can always come over to us to hang out." she looked at Alex who nodded her agreement. "I know how it feels, I'd probably feel the same if it was only me and my mom. But then I also have Cal." Piper added.

"Thanks. I might not always show it but I am really damn grateful that I have you two as my friends." Nicky said.

"You're welcome. You'd be there for us too in a situation like that or any other situation for that matter." Alex replied.

Nicky soon left after their talk and Piper and Alex went back to studying. They had promised to come over the following weekend and hang out.

That afternoon Piper went home with Alex to talk to Diane.

XXXXX

The talk Diane had with her mother unfortunately didn't change much about Piper's situation. It was a couple weeks later and she still found her mother with a glass of scotch in her hand when she came home from school and her dad wasn't home as usual. Nicky's parents were through with everything and Nicky lived with her mother and a housekeeper that would also look after Nicky too every now and then. "As if I need a babysitter!" Nicky had complained but was also thankful when Tamara made her something to eat while her mother was out.

XXXXX

It was three months until they'd turn sixteen and about one month from their first anniversary. It had already been a year that they finally got together. Piper couldn't believe that about a year ago she was dreading to tell Alex how she felt. It seemed so far away. Piper had enjoyed their time together a lot. She loved Alex with all her annoying traits she could have sometimes. It was one year of amazing time with her girlfriend, many romantic gestures and movie nights, more kisses and make out sessions than Piper could count, the annoying necessity to hide their relationship from most people but nonetheless the best year of her life. The time had passed so fast and even though they had decided to take things as slow or fast as they wanted and needed Piper worried that it was weird they hadn't gone further than heavy make out sessions and never gone 'all the way'. The occasions where they could have taken things further had been plenty but shortly before it got that far one of them usually stopped it. Piper knew that she felt ready even though she was scared somehow. This was a big step. What if she wasn't good at it? What if she couldn't make Alex happy and satisfy her? How do you even do that? Piper thought about it for quite some time but whenever the talk was about sex education, mostly their school's lessons, it was always about boys and girls. Obviously everyone knew how that worked physically seen, also connected with many warnings when it came to consequences, but never she had heard anyone saying anything about the female part and gay sex was nothing even considered talking about. And it was always about the technicalities of it and not really about the pleasure part. Piper put a lot of thought into how she should learn about this. Should she try to find a website with serious information? Did something like this exist? Should she watch lesbian porn to prepare? That thought was really strange to her and she knew she wouldn't do that. Should she just go with it and discover it with Alex and 'see what happens'? She heard from quite a few of her friends who had already taken that step that the first time was really awkward and strange but all of them were happy to have lost their virginity. She really needed to talk to someone about this. She just didn't know who, really. Nicky would probably never let her hear the end of it if she came to her even though she'd probably know more than Polly who was her other option. She considered it for a while and didn't come to a conclusion yet when she heard her phone beep signaling an incoming message.

[Polly: Can you come over to talk? I need to tell you something.]

[Piper: Sure. Be there in a couple minutes.]

Piper got up from her bed and packed a few things to take to Polly. Piper wondered what Polly wanted to talk about so urgently that she asked her to come over immediately. She'd find out she figured and went downstairs to tell her mother she'd go over to Polly.

"Hey. What's up?" Piper asked after she said hello to Polly's parents and they went to her room.

"Can't I just want you to come over for a little chat? Does it mean that something happened?" Polly replied trying to act innocent.

"Not with a text like that you can't." Piper denied "So, what do you want to tell me?"

"You always go like a bull at a gate." Polly half complained.

"Wasn't the point that you wanted to tell me something the whole thing why I came over?" Piper asked confused.

"Yeah, but … whatever." Polly gave in. "It happened last night." she let out excitedly.

"What happened last night, come on Polly!" Piper was a bit annoyed.

"Will and I…" she started and Pipers eyes went wide. "Did you….?" she interrupted.

"Did it, yes. Goodbye virginity." Polly laughed.

"Congratulations, I guess." Piper laughed too.

"Thanks. At least I'm sharing it!" Polly said hald accusingly.

"Why do you look at me like that and why did that sound so reproachful?!" Piper asked her.

"Come on, Pipes. You and Alex have been together for about a year now. I gotta say I'm a little offended you wouldn't tell your best friend." Polly explained.

"Because there is nothing to tell." Piper just replied.

"Wait, what? You two didn't?" Polly seemed very surprised.

"Nope. Not yet." Piper confirmed.

"But why? This takes me by surprise a little to be honest. You've been together for so long, I mean I've only been about four months with Will and we said we'd take it slow but you obviously take it super slow." Polly said.

"Well, it's not for the lack of opportunity or attraction. First I wasn't really ready for a big step like that. So we said we'd take it slow and discover that together but now I really want to, you know, but I'm scared." Piper admitted.

"Why are you scared?" Polly wanted to know.

"Because this is a huge step. What if it's weird afterwards? What if everything is different? What if I don't like it? What if Alex doesn't like it?" Piper started to ramble.

"Woah, way too many questions to answer at once." Polly tried to slow her down.

"Plus, I don't have any idea what I'm supposed to do. I mean I know from what we've had in school and so how it works with boys. But girls? That's completely different!" Piper explained.

"I can see that being a problem." Polly agreed.

"And kinda a big one." Piper added.

"I don't really know how to help you there." Polly almost apologized.

"I didn't expect that." Piper said.

"Well, maybe you'll find something on a website. You could try with yourself and that'll help?" Polly suggested questioningly.

"That actually sounds like a good idea. I mean, if I know how to do it to me…" she thought out loud.

"Please not to many details…" Polly interjected.

"Come on. Just because your in a hetero relationship doesn't mean you can't do yourself?!" Piper exclaimed. "But anyway. I'll try that. Now back to you. How was it?"

"Wow. Quick turn of topic, but okay. Not quite what I expected, honestly." Polly replied.

"In what way?" Piper asked curiously.

"Well it was quite awkward and that was half what I expected, but everyone always says how it feels so amazing and I seriously don't see what all the fuss is about." Polly answered honestly.

"Pol, it was your first time. Nobody expects that you or Will are experts at what you're doing. It's just like everything else, you have to learn. Just how I have to learn how it works for girls, you have to do the same and show Will how he gets you there." Piper told her "You couldn't ride a bike first time you got on it, you learned every time you tried."

"That sounds pretty reasonable." Polly seemed satisfied with the answer. "You mean I shouldn't stress out about it being perfect, because someday I'll get there?"

"Right. And neither should I probably but it's easier said than done." Piper chuckled.

"True. So glad we talked about this." Polly replied.

"Yeah, me too." Piper agreed.


	22. Chapter 22: Is it happening?

Chapter 22: Is it happening?

Piper spent the next afternoon after school doing her ‚research' and decided to try and use her newly gained knowledge.

At the same time Alex met with Nicky for a coke in the diner.

„How is it going with you and your mom alone?" Alex asked.

„Well, she's barely home anyway so I could as well live there by myself, not counting the housekeeper…" Nicky explained.

"You know you can come over anytime, right?" Alex reminded her.

"Except when you have some alone time with Piper." Nicky gave back "Wouldn't want to interrupt that!"

Alex chuckled. "Well, it helps if send a text first to check."

"I'll remember that. I wouldn't want to run into one having the hands down the others pants." Nicky teased.

"You wouldn't dare." Alex gave back leaving out that this hasn't happened yet. "Plus. If you form your hand like that" she made a fist "and hit the door lightly you can avoid awkward situations, you know?"

"I'm not really sure yet, seeing as you're both my friends, if I want to know it or not." Nicky started. "But really I'm pretty curious."

"Know what?" Alex asked.

"If it's good… I mean, don't get me wrong, but Piper seems way too innocent and cute to be a wild one in bed." Nicky concluded her thoughts.

"You think?" Alex looked a little amused.

"I'm open for surprises… Maybe I am wrong about that?!" Nicky tested.

"Well, do you really think I would answer your question?" Alex tried to get out of it.

"I was hoping." Nicky returned.

"False hope. That's none of your business." Alex gave back.

"You don't have to go into detail, come on!" Nicky almost begged.

"No." Alex replied. She was getting annoyed. She didn't want to admit it to her friend that she was waiting until Piper was ready to take that step and that hadn't happened yet. "It's none of your business. Why the fuck can't you just leave it alone?"

"Gosh. Why are you freaking out about it like that?" Nicky looked at her questioningly. "Woah. You haven't… You won't tell me, because there is nothing to tell?" she tried to find the cause for her friend's reaction.

"Shut up, will you?" Alex whisper-shouted at her. "Fine. You're right, okay? Happy now?"

"Woah, someone's a little frustrated!" Nicky replied.

"Frustrated because you can't let it go." Alex exclaimed.

"Sure." Nicky didn't want to argue with her friend any longer.

"Honestly. I mean I've been ready for it for a while now but I've been waiting for Piper to be too. And so far she hasn't said anything or shown me that she's ready to take that step. And I didn't want to push her. Also to be honest I might have postponed it or slowed it down a little too. I mean it is a big step after all. What if it changes anything between us? I kinda like how it is." Alex tried to reason.

"Well, you two take your time. I'm just a little surprised, that's all. You've been a couple for nearly a year already. But everyone has their own pace. I promise I won't push or ask anymore. I'll wait for you to tell me, okay?" Nicky said. "And of course taking a big step does change something, but is that necessarily a bad thing?"

"Okay. Don't expect any details though." Alex chuckled "I don't know, actually."

"Please, I don't need pictures of that in my head." Nicky returned.

The two kept talking until eventually they had to go home.

XXXXX

About two weeks after her talk with Polly Piper had tried different things she had found online and even though it was frustrating at first she learned which method was successful and that was the part that was great. She felt more ready now to eventually take that step with Alex.

It was Wednesday and a week and a half before their anniversary. Piper, Alex, Nicky, Lorna and Polly sat together at a lunch table in the school's cafeteria and talked.

"Has anyone seen that movie with that actor, gosh, what was his name?" Lorna tried to remember.

"You'll need to be a bit more specific than that if you want an answer to that question." Nicky told her.

"I know. I mean the one about that group of friends who all have dinner together and then someone decides that everyone puts their phones on the table and every incoming text during the dinner has to be read aloud and calls have to be answered on speaker. It's supposed to be really funny." Lorna explained. Nobody had seen it yet.

"How about we all go together? Say, this saturday?!" Polly suggested.

"Yeah, why not?" everyone agreed.

"Can someone find out which time they show it?" Nicky asked.

"How about the one at 5.30?" Polly had taken out her phone the fastest and was the first to find it on the website. Again everyone agreed and they decided on meeting about half an hour earlier in front of the movie theatre.

"Do you want to come over after the movie? My parents aren't home and Felix is staying with our grandma. We'll have the house all to ourselves." Alex asked Piper later when everyone else had already excused themselves and gone to their classes.

"Sure. I'd love to." Piper smiled at her, wondering if Saturday would be the day they'd both eventually be ready for the next step. Piper would have loved to give Alex a kiss before they went to their classrooms but still feared that if everyone at school knew it would find its way to her parents just how they found out about Alex. So she held back and went with a hug instead.

Saturday came faster than she thought and Piper was at home getting ready. The thought about what might happen later made her pretty nervous but also excited. She was standing in her room trying to decide what to wear. This was an important day and it made it even harder to decide what she should wear.

Alex at the same time had about the same problem. Her mom noticed her nervousness and asked if everything is alright and she told her that all was fine. She didn't really feel like going into detail and maybe it wouldn't happen? Alex tried to calm her nerves that even though they'd have the opportunity, even more explicit than on other occasions, didn't mean it would happen. One could only hope.

Diane and Louis both wondered about their daughters nervous and excited mood and Diane decided to address it after they had dropped off Felix.

"Do you know what is going on with Alex? She's been on edge the whole day." she voiced her thoughts.

"Maybe she's got something planned for tonight that she's nervous about?!" Louis guessed.

"I think so. A secret party, now that she's got the house to herself?!" Diane tried.

"Or some alone time with Piper…" Louis went on.

"Or that. Would explain the nervousness a lot better. Oh wait… do you think they'll…?" Diane looked at him wide eyed.

"Di. They're teenagers. They've been in a relationship for a year. What do you expect?" Louis was amused by Diane's surprise.

"Ugh, I know, she's growing up and getting older. It's hard. She's my little baby." Diane said.

"Di, she stopped being a baby about thirteen years ago. I know it's hard to accept that she's more independent now and doesn't need you the way she used to anymore. But I know you are proud of her for becoming the strong girl she is and as hard as it is you have to give her room to discover things, to find out who she wants to be and make experiences on her own, good and bad ones. Remember yourself at that age? Don't tell me you weren't all over the boys when you were fifteen?!" Louis laughed.

"I know you're right. And I'm trying, okay? Why do they have to grow up so fast?" Diane mused.

"I know you are. So don't think about what's going on at home. We'll have a great night and when Alex is ready she'll tell us. Or she won't. Either way, it's gonna be alright." Louis who was driving looked at his wife and took her hand which had been lying in her lap.

"Well at least she can't get her pregnant." they both laughed and soon changed the topic.

XXXXX

Meanwhile the group of friends stood in front of the cinema and were waiting for Piper who was running a little late.

"Sorry, guys. I'm here." she apologized when she arrived. She went around and hugged everyone. When she came to Alex she gave her a short kiss and the group went in to get their tickets. They all enjoyed the movie a lot and all agreed to go to the diner after to get something to eat. They found a booth in the back and a rather secluded area. The rest was still talking about the movie and went into a discussion what would happen if they had to read out their messages and everyone argued they had nothing to hide, but neither thought the characters in the movie. While they discussed Alex and Piper sat in the back of the booth listening. Piper had turned toward their friends and leant with her back against Alex's front who had the arms around her girlfriend.

"You two are surprisingly touchy-feely today." Nicky noticed.

"Not more than other days." Alex replied. Nicky looked at her unbelievingly. Obviously she didn't agree with that but she let it go. After everyone was finished with their drinks and food they kept talking for a bit but then went home. As they walked towards Alex's home Piper got more nervous by every minute.

When they got there they went to Alex's room. They were still talking about their evening and some topics that came up with their friends. So far they were sitting comfortably on Alex's bed and talking.

"You really look amazing in that dress, you know that, right?" Alex suddenly changed the topic.

"Thanks." Piper was surprised. "You don't look so bad yourself." she gave back with a smirk.

They looked at each other both smiling and soon closed the gap and kissed. Once they'd started neither wanted to stop and it soon got more heated. Alex's hand snuck under Piper's shirt and Piper felt pretty excited. She was determined to not slow it down or stop it anymore. She was ready and wanted to experience this with Alex. Her skin tickled in the spots Alex had touched her. Soon clothes were shed and they were lying there in only their bras and panties. That's the point they had been already. It wasn't the first time for them seeing each other in only their underwear.

"Pipes, if you…" Alex started but got quietened by Piper's finger on her lips.

"Al. I think we've waited long enough. I am ready to take the next step with you." Piper said and Alex smiled widely and kissed Piper passionately.

Their make out heated up again and soon Alex's hand snuck behind Piper's back to take off her bra but before she did so she looked at her again for approval and Piper nodded. Soon both girls had rid each other of the remaining clothes and lay there exploring each other completely naked for a while. Piper had completely forgotten her nervousness and was more excited about how good it felt to be touched by Alex and to feel Alex's breasts in her hand without fabric covering them. After they took their time discovering each other's naked bodies Piper decided it was time to 'use her knowledge' so she slowly moved her hand down. As she got closer she heard Alex moan and it turned her on even more.

"P-pipes, y-you know, we can always st-stop if…" Alex could barely finish. Even though she was excited this was actually happen she wanted Piper to know that at any point she could stop it. But Alex didn't get to finish her sentence as obviously her ability to think straight had excused itself for now.

"Shh. What if I don't want to stop?!" Piper asked back as seductively as she could.

Alex didn't even try to say anything. She knew there wouldn't be any coherent words coming out of her mouth as long as Piper was touching her like this.

Now that things got to the crucial part Piper felt her nervousness come back and rise once more. She hoped that Alex liked it like it had worked for her. After the initial nervousness Piper started to enjoy it more and more as she got the reactions from Alex she had hoped for. So she went on until she felt Alex tense and heard her voice an almost surprised "Oh, god, Piper."

'Yes. Mission accomplished.' Piper celebrated internally.

"Oh my… " Alex tried to calm her breathing. They both didn't say anything for a while.

"Wow. If this is what it feels like, I don't understand how anybody manages to do anything else." Alex giggled. "My turn." Alex said and smiled at Piper lovingly. "I just hope I can make you feel as good as you just made me." Piper heard a little nervousness in Alex's voice.

"Don't worry. I'll still love you no matter what…" Piper tried to calm her.

Alex started slow by massaging Piper's breasts, who as quite often wished they were a little bit bigger but she hoped they'd still grow, and kissing her all over her upper body. Piper was so turned on, she couldn't control her moans anymore. This time it was Alex's time to feel Piper tremble and moan her name. After Piper had calmed a bit they both laid next to each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"I love you." Alex said out of the blue.

"I love you too, Al." Piper replied.

"To be honest, even though I wanted this to happen I was pretty scared." Alex quietly admitted.

"I didn't feel much different." Piper agreed. "After everything I heard from everyone who had already had their first time saying it was so awkward…." she didn't finish.

Alex chuckled. "But it wasn't. At least not for me."

"For me neither." Piper hurried to assure her. "I guess another perk of knowing each other for so long."

"I was afraid that, you know, we try but wouldn't get there, you know." Alex admitted a little nervous.

"I get that. I thought so too. I mean what are the chances at the first try?!" Piper chuckled and added "And you can call it orgasm, you know?!"

"Looks like we're a good team in every way." Alex replied.

"We've always been." Piper agreed and said almost inaudible "Plus practice helped."

"What?" Alex asked.

"Uh, nothing." Piper didn't necessarily want to tell her everything.

"What did you just say?" Alex kept asking and smirked.

"Nothing." as that word came from Piper's lips Alex started to tickle her.

"I don't believe you. And I want to know." Alex laughed with Piper.

"Aaahhh, please. Stop." Piper eventually shouted out of breath.

"Only if you tell me." Alex didn't give in.

"Okay, okay." Piper caved.

"So? What was it?" Alex asked again holding her hands towards Piper as a 'thread' of tickling her again if she wouldn't answer.

"I said 'plus practice helped.'" Piper quietly told her still trying to calm her breathing.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Alex asked confused.

"I, mean, I uh…" suddenly the nervousness from before was back. "I was kinda scared, just like you. And I don't like to be unprepared. So I, uhm, did some research, so to say. I found some websites and, well… had to test if it worked what I found." Piper blushed deeply.

"You did research?" Alex was surprised and asked incredulously "And who did you test that on?"

"Who do you think? She's lying in bed with you right now." Piper replied a little shy.

"You? Oh my…." Alex answered and added laughingly "You mean you practiced on yourself first so you could do it to me?"

Piper just blushed and couldn't say anything.

"You're so cute when you blush like that." Alex told her "And I think it is very sweet and quite sexy that you were so dedicated to do that."

"Well I wanted it to be good." Piper justified her actions.

"And it was good. Really good. Great even. I can't believe you did that but I still think it is a very nice thing of you to do for me." Alex laughed and kissed Piper.

"So you didn't? Guess you're a natural then. Cause for me it was great too." Piper said almost unbelievingly.

"To be honest I was a bit afraid at the beginning and then actually tried a bit to copy what you did. Obviously successful." Alex chuckled.

"Definitely successful." Piper laughed until her laughter turned into yawning.

"Let's get some sleep." Alex said, she felt quite tired herself.

"Yeah. I love you, Alex." Piper said and closed her eyes.

"I love you too." Alex replied and they both fell asleep cuddled into each other.

XXXXX

The next morning Piper woke first and smiled before she even opened her eyes as she felt Alex lying next to her while noticing they both were still naked. In her mind she went back to last night and felt pride rise. She had been afraid it would be awkward but it had been so great. And even though they knew they were both not bad at it they could still discover even more together. Piper felt Alex stir next to her.

"Good morning, my lovely girlfriend." Piper smiled.

"Good morning." Alex replied smiling, her voice raspier than normal from just waking up. They just laid there for a bit longer embracing each other in a tight hug until Piper's stomach growled.

"Breakfast?" Alex asked chuckingly.

"No." Piper just replied.

"O-kay. I thought you're hungry if that was your stomach?!" Alex said perplexed.

"It was. And yes, I am hungry but I am enjoying this way too much right now to get up." Piper replied and snuggled into Alex even more. Alex heart warmed as she heard that. They stayed like that for a while longer until they heard the front door open and Alex's parents talking.

Diane couldn't find the girls anywhere so she figured they hadn't gotten up yet. She knocked on Alex's door and asked through the door "Anyone want some breakfast? We brought some croissants."

"We'll be down in a few minutes." Alex replied.

Piper groaned when Alex moved to get clothes.

"Come on, Pipes. We can't stay in bed for the rest of our lives." Alex chuckled.

"Why not?" Piper asked rather rhetorically.

"Because we would starve and I wouldn't appreciate anyone peeing in my bed or worse." Alex answered nonetheless.

"Urgh. But I don't want to get up." Piper said still not moving.

"Well, I'll be in the kitchen with my family, because I'm really hungry." Alex replied and blew her a kiss before leaving her room.

When Diane saw Alex entering the kitchen alone she was a bit surprised.

"I thought Piper is here, too?!" she asked.

"Yes. She is too lazy to get up. So as soon as her stomach manages to convince her she'll be here." Alex answered. "How was your concert?"

"It was amazing. Such a great voice and she sang almost all of her songs. The crowd was amazing and really wordperfect with the lyrics of most songs. We had the best time. What did you do?" Diane replied and asked being a little curious.

"Well, we went to see the movie I told you about and went to the diner afterwards. And then basically just came back here." Alex replied as if nothing special had happened.

"Just you and Piper?" Louis asked.

"Well we saw the movie and went to the diner with Nicky, Lorna and Polly and everyone went home after. Well except Piper, who came with me." Alex replied. 'Basically after me.' she thought. Diane and Louis saw her blushing very lightly and wondered what she thought that made her blush but didn't want to push her. She'd tell them if she wanted them to know.

Couple minutes they heard someone come down the stairs so Alex made a coffee for Piper who entered with a "Good morning."

"Well, looks like you two had fun too, after you came back home." Louis noticed laughing lightly. Alex was confused where that comment came from but when she looked at Piper she knew why. She felt her face heat up and felt the biggest blush ever coming onto her face.

"What?" Piper asked with a bit of horror in her voice. On her neck very clearly for everyone visible was a massive hickey.

_***Hey everyone. I thought about it for a while and originally didn't want to write their first time together this 'perfect'. Cause realistically seen the first time is not very likely to be this good. There are probably some exceptions to that... Mostly it's awkward and one is learning and it's a bit weird. At least that's what mine was like. Somehow I couldn't write it like I originally intended but I like the way it turned out. After all this is a ficitve story and even though I want to keep it realistic, sometimes I like to dream. Let me know what you think._


	23. Chapter 23: Anniversary

Chapter 23: Anniversary

Sunday afternoon Piper sat on the couch of their living room and texted with Polly. She would have loved to stay with Alex for the rest of the day but her mom had asked her to come home. She had invited the Wiley's over and of course she expected Piper home when her 'boyfriends' family came over. So right now she and Michael sat at the couch talking. They had been meeting regularly or had been telling their parents they'd meet to keep up the act of playing a couple.

"Did you finally joined the basketball team, like you wanted to?" Piper asked him. He had been talking about it for a while and had practiced to make it into the team.

"Yeah. I've been to a couple of practices and I think they like me and I gotta say I'm not bad at it." he told her.

"Cool. So you like it?" Piper asked.

"I do. It's fun, the guys are cool, plus there is this really cute guy." he replied almost whispering to her.

"Uhh, it's getting interesting. Tell me about him!" Piper demanded.

"Can we go outside? Out of the hearing range of our parents?" he got up from the couch.

"Sure." Piper followed him outside and they sat down on the bench in the garden.

"So. His name is Brandon. He is so funny and smart…" Michael told her and went on with everything he liked. "But I don't even know if he's gay. And even if, what are the chances of him liking me?" he ended sounding a bit gloomy.

"Hey. stay optimistic! How about you try to find out about the first I don't know and then we can go from there?!" Piper suggested.

"I'm not gonna go to him and ask him directly if he's gay!" Michael replied aghast.

"I didn't say that that was the way. You could start a general conversation with him. And then, if it fits slowly touch the topic of liking other people and preferences. Maybe tell him of a friend who is trying to find out if he's gay?! Would be helpful if you really had a friend in that situation." she looked at him questioningly.

"I've got someone in my class struggling a little right now?!" he answered.

"See. Good point to start. Bringing that up you could test how he feels about gay people in general and then however that goes find out about his orientation." Piper explained.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Michael replied and thought about it shortly. "I'll try to come up with something."

"And if it takes more than one conversation because the situation or atmosphere is not right to bring it up, then that's good too. Make a connection." Piper challenged him.

"It's always good talking to you, you know? Thanks for the advice." Michael said gratefully.

"Well let me know if it works, okay?" Piper laughed.

"So how are things with you and Alex?" he asked.

"Great. Coming saturday we got our first anniversary. I can't believe we've been together for a year already. But at the same time I still can't believe that it took me so long to tell her how I feel." Piper smiled widely.

"Gosh, you look so happy I'm getting a little jealous." Michael was happy for his friend.

"I am. The only thing that annoys me a lot is that I have to hide everything. I want to shout out to the whole world that I am in love and happy and that I love Alex, but I can't even kiss her when we meet with many people around, because I'm scared to death my parents will find out." Piper told him.

"I understand that completely. But I get your decision not to tell them. I'm in the same situation with my parents. They wouldn't accept it either if I told them I am gay." he said empathetically.

They were silent for a bit until he pointed on Pipers scarf and asked if it wasn't too warm for that and that he hadn't ever seen her wear one before. Piper blushed again and eventually pulled it away a little. Michael laughed when he saw the flashing bright hickey.

"Woah. Kudos to Alex for that." he laughed.

"I don't really think that's very funny. What if my parents saw that? I'll have to pin it on you and then they'll probably come with that embarrassing 'But you're using protection' talk. And I am not looking forward to having to go through that situation." Piper exclaimed and Michael lost the smirk on his face.

"Oh shit. I don't want that either." he agreed. "But it looks like things got heated between you too."

"Well. We uhm, finally went that next step." Piper told him.

"Congratulations. Your first time together? That's a big thing. We should celebrate that!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Not just together. For both of us the first time in general. And thank you, I guess." Piper smiled a little shyly.

"Even more reasons to celebrate!" Michael got quite excited about this.

"You're right. This is a reason to celebrate." Piper smiled.

"Dare I ask how it was?" he asked cautiously.

"It was great. I was kinda a bit scared before but it seems we work together perfectly. For a first time I thought it would be quite weird and so but it wasn't at all." Piper explained.

"That's amazing. I thought so too, but in the end mine was okay. We were both really nervous and that wasn't helpful but one can always learn and improve." Michael shared his story.

"Wait, when? How can I not know this?" Piper looked at him a little shocked.

"I actually didn't tell anyone. But about four months ago." he answered.

"Woah. Sometimes I got the feeling everyone around me has done it before I got there. But I actually don't regret not having done it earlier. Yesterday the time was right, we were both ready for this and I actually wouldn't want it any other way." Piper explained.

"I'm so happy for you. Do you have anything planned for your anniversary?" he wanted to know.

"Just something small really. After all it is a reason to celebrate." she replied and told him about her idea.

XXXXX

Saturday came and Alex got ready for the ball. Diane helped her with her hair and they talked.

"You seem excited. I've never seen you excited for a school ball like this." Diane noticed.

"It's not really about the ball." Alex replied. "It's our first anniversary. I can't believe it's been already a year. Remember, last year at the ball Piper told me that she liked me. So I'm rather excited about celebrating that with her."

"I can understand that. It's an important date. How are you going to celebrate it?" Diane wanted to know.

"Well, going to the ball and having that time together and with our friends. Plus I got a little present for Piper that I'll give her when we come back." Alex told her. Of course she had more planned for Piper and her after the ball but her mother didn't really need to know about that.

"Cool. It's great to see you both so happy." Diane replied.

"Thanks mom." Alex replied and decided to bring up a topic she had been dreading to ask her mom about. "Ma, I wanted to ask you something. It's uhm,..." Alex got really nervous and Diane wondered why.

"What is it honey?" she asked her voice somewhat calming.

"I mean it's not like… You know I love Louis and he's always been there for me and I see him as my father. But, I was, uh, maybe you could tell me about my biological father?" Alex asked very nervously.

"I, uhm, sure I can. I knew this moment would come at some point but still you caught me by surprise a little." Diane smiled weakly and also a little nervous now.

"You don't have to right now. But it would be nice, if you could tell me." Alex said.

"It's alright, Ally. It's completely normal and natural to want to know where you came from and you have a right to know." Diane explained.

"Thanks, mom." Alex said gratefully.

"Well, where do I start?" Diane began. "It probably started that one night where I went to see that band that was in town with my friend when I was 24. They played a few gigs around the area for a while and we went to see them a couple times. They were this cool upcoming band called 'Death Maiden'. After their concerts we always snuck backstage and hung out with the band. I especially liked the drummer. Lee. After a few times after the concerts that we hung out he asked me out. When the band moved on to New York to play a few gigs I went with them. My parents, to be honest, weren't happy about my choice and we had a huge fight which concluded in not having contact with each other until you were six months old. At that time I didn't care. I led this exciting life as the girlfriend of a cool rockstar and was too in love to see that he wasn't a good person. After some time in New York the band moved on and were on their way to I think Richmond was there next stop. Shortly before they left I told Lee about you. Well that I was pregnant. And he reacted in a really strange way and left without really saying anything. That hurt, but it hurt even more when I couldn't find him anymore and he wouldn't react to calls and the room they had rented as their practice room was empty. Later I found out from 'friends' that the band had obviously already left for Richmond. I shortly thought about traveling after them to Richmond but eventually realized that Lee was what I never wanted to see and had ignored: an asshole. Sorry for the language. The time after that was hard. I wanted to move back home, but when I contacted my parents they were pretty clear that they hadn't forgiven me for running off with that band. Luckily I stayed in contact with Carol over all those years. She let me stay with them for a while. Shortly after moving in with them we noticed we were both pregnant at the same time. I found a job at the diner and luckily they employed me even though they knew I was pregnant. And that's most of the story." Diane finished.

Alex had been listening intently and tried to comprehend everything her mother just told her. "Thank you for telling me all this." she quietly said.

"Everything okay, sweetie?" Diane asked carefully.

"It's just a lot. I think I need some time to comprehend everything you just told me." Alex replied half in thought.

"Come to me, if you want to talk about it more, okay?" Diane offered being a little worried that it was a bit much for Alex right now.

"I know. Thanks, ma." Alex went over to Diane and hugged her. They hadn't noticed the time that had passed but now heard the bell ring signaling Piper was here to pick up Alex. Luckily Alex was ready to leave even though she was still in thought about the story Diane told her.

"Hey, gorgeous!" Piper greeted her smiling widely.

"Hey, you look amazing, Pipes!" Alex greeted back and went over to kiss her girlfriend.

"Ready to party?" Piper asked and Alex affirmed.

They started walking towards the school and Piper noticed Alex being quieter than usual so she asked her if something was wrong. Alex though didn't know what to say yet and had a feeling that if they talked about it right now it would ruin the mood for the night. So she tried to push her thoughts about her father and his band away and concentrate on celebrating her anniversary with Piper.

"My mom just told me a few things. I'll tell you everything when I comprehended all of this myself, okay? I don't want to ruin the mood this evening. It's time to celebrate. It's our special day. I want us to have a great party and later I even got a little surprise for you." Alex told her.

"Uhh. I love surprises!" Piper exclaimed. "I got one for you too, by the way." she smiled widely.

"Do you?" Alex chuckled. She was happy Piper just went with it and trusted her to talk about it when she was ready.

"You'll get it later though." Piper replied.

"Same for you." Alex said as they arrived at the school.

"Hey, lovebirds. Eventually. I thought we were on our way home until you two finally made it here." they heard someone shout at them from afar and who else than Nicky would have come up with something like that?

"Hi nag. Maybe if you weren't so annoying sometimes I would care." Alex returned. Their friends laughed at their friendly banter.

"Let's go in!" Piper exclaimed to get everyone moving. She went ahead and everyone followed her. They had a great time. Everyone danced a lot and they chatted about everything and nothing. The evening went by too fast but everyone enjoyed the evening a lot. Polly and her boyfriend were the first to leave and when Nicky and Lorna said they'd go home Piper and Alex decided to make their way home too.

"Wait, I wanted to give you something." Alex stopped Piper. When they had returned from the ball they went straight up to Alex's room, of course not avoiding a short chat with Diane and Louis about their evening, but as soon as the door closed they were unable to take their hands off each other. After slowing it down a little Alex went into one of her drawers and got out the present she had gotten Piper for their first anniversary.

"Happy first anniversary, Pipes." Alex handed her an envelope. It was a ticket for an escape room. Piper had been talking about wanting to go and try that. Piper's eyes went wide in surprise when she saw what Alex got her.

"Woah. Thank you. Oh my god, I love it. I'm so excited." she smiled widely and hugged Alex. "I love you." she kissed her and being a little surprised by the sudden 'attack' the fell on Alex's bed. And while Piper just wanted to keep lying here and kiss her girlfriend, and also do a few more things than kissing, she also wanted to see Alex's reaction to her present. She reached into her backpack, she had brought a few things as she knew she was staying over, and got the wrapped present out.

"Happy anniversary, Al. It's been such an amazing year." they shortly kissed and Alex unwrapped the present to find a self made scrapbook. Over the last year Piper had been collecting movie theatre tickets and other things from nearly everything they had done together and put it into the scrapbook along with a few stories and things she wanted Alex to know.

"Wow. this is so thoughtful. Our first year documented." Alex laughed. "Thank you, my dear crafty girlfriend." she smiled widely and pulled Piper in for a long kiss. It soon turned more passionate and heated. They helped each other out of their dresses and went on exploring each other.

The next morning they woke up cuddled into each other.

"Good morning, Pipes." Alex was the first to speak, her voice croaking from the first use after sleeping.

"Morning." Piper mumbled back still half asleep. They kept like that, close to each other and silently enjoying the closeness for a while. Alex's thoughts at some point returned to the story Diane had told her the day before.

"A penny for your thoughts." Piper said after she had been watching her girlfriend for a bit. Alex jerked in surprise. She had been so in her thoughts and not noticed anything around her until Piper brought her back.

"Mom told me about my father yesterday." she shortly revealed.

"Your father?" Piper asked. "Oh, sometimes I forget that Louis isn't biologically seen your dad." she added as it had just dawned on her.

"I know. And he is. I mean I've been calling him dad for as long as I can remember. And he's always been there and was and is the best father I could ask for. And I see him as my father. But I'm also curious about the biological second part of me and where that came from." Alex explained. "So, after a long time of contemplating it I asked my mom about it yesterday. And she told me the about how they met and the sad ending."

"So that was the thing you had on your mind yesterday? This is something big. How do you feel? What did she tell you?" Piper asked. She looked attentively at Alex trying to figure out how she felt about all this. Sometimes already Alex's facial expression and body language told her more than Alex was giving away with words.

So Alex told her the story she had heard from her mother. She couldn't really say how she felt about it.

"That must have been hard. Well, hard for Diane when she was all alone so suddenly, but also hard for you to just hear all that." Piper said

"Yeah, I still don't know what to do now that I know all this. Can we talk about something else? At least until I figured out how I feel about all this?" Alex asked.

"Sure. How about we get breakfast first? I'm starving." as Piper said that Alex's stomach growled. "I take that as a confirmation then." Piper laughed. They got up, got dressed and went to the kitchen.

"Hi girls." Diane greeted them. "Did you sleep well?" Both affirmed and the family chatted through breakfast about their plans for the day and whatever came up. Eventually Piper had to say goodbye as her parents were expecting her back home.

For the rest of the day Alex was in her room mostly and read and thought about the story about her dad and what she wanted to do now that she knew that. Eventually she came to the conclusion that she needed to speak to her mom about it and maybe ask her a few more questions. She needed to know more or else these questions would just loop in her head again and again. She found Diane and Louis talking in the living room.

"Mom. Can I talk to you?" Alex asked almost shy.

"Sure. What is it, honey?" Diane turned towards Alex.

"Should I leave you two?" Louis offered. He figured what this was about. Diane had told him last night that Alex had asked about her father. He got up. "I'm gonna read in our bedroom and leave you two to talk. You probably still have a few questions, Alex."

"Are you angry with me?" Alex noticed that he probably knew about this and didn't know how he felt about it.

"Alex, no. Don't think that. It's only natural to be curious about where you come from. I knew that someday you'll ask questions. This isn't about me." Louis answered calmly.

Alex went over to hug him. "You're the best dad I could have asked for. You know that, right? It doesn't matter that we aren't biologically related. You were always there for me when I needed someone." Alex told him. "I just…" she didn't know how to finish.

"Thank you for saying that." Louis replied with a lump in his throat. "It's okay, Ally. I'd be curious too. It's natural that you have questions."

Alex was relieved to say the least. She had worried about his reaction. "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, sweetie." he replied and left the room. "I'll leave you two to talk."

Alex sat down next to Diane on the couch. "It almost makes my heart burst to see you two so sweet together." Diane admitted.

"Oh please don't. I still need you! And Felix and Louis probably too." Alex chuckled.

"Don't worry. I won't leave so soon. How do you feel about all this? Now that you've had a night to sleep over it and a day to think about it." Diane wanted to know.

"I don't really know. I still have so many questions." Alex replied.

"Ask away." Diane offered.

"You said yesterday that he, he wasn't a good person, he was an asshole. Is that true? Was he really that bad?" Alex eventually asked.

"Well, Lee's first priority was music. And he was always clear about that. Which doesn't make him a bad person. Actually I liked that about him, that he had a passion for something and put everything into it. But as I later realized he didn't care about much else. Everything else was just a accessoire to his life but not necessary, as in he could go without it. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I was to him, and eventually came to the conclusion that to him I was just another groupie in the end and he didn't care as much about me as I thought he did. After he just walked out on me like that I was heartbroken and sad but also mad and pretty angry. He didn't care what happened to anyone around him. It didn't matter if it was his doing. If people and things fit in his plan then good, they were welcome. But if he would have to change something or if it restricted him in his life he let go of many things quite fast. And I realized that that's just what I was. Someone that was about to change too many things in his life. To ask things of him that he didn't want to give. And that's when he left. It would have been nice to have an explanation or at least some reaction to me telling him I was pregnant, but in the end it wouldn't have changed anything. Either way he would have left. It was a long and painful way to realize that I had dreamed about being able to make him the man I wanted and needed and that I'd be able to change him." Diane told her.

"Do you regret meeting him?" Alex asked shyly.

"No. Even if it was a hard time and I'd never had any of it planned like this, I got you out of all this. And I could never regret this. I love you, Alex. You and Felix are the two best things in my life. And Louis being such an amazing dad to you. I'm sorry that your biological father is such an asshole, but I'm thankful to him for giving me you." Diane answered.

"Do you ever wish you had chosen someone else to be my father?" Alex wanted to know.

"Well, I sometimes wished it was someone who cared about you more than Lee. But a few things can't be changed." Diane looked at Alex to figure out how she took all the new information.

"But then I would be a whole other person. I mean half of my genetics would be different. But you chose someone else to be my much more caring father. And I love calling him dad." Alex replied.

Diane laughed. "That's right, but genetics aren't all that defines who you are. And that's true. I've never thought about it like that."

Alex laughed too but soon turned more serious. There was another thing on her mind that worried her. "What if I turn to be like him? What if I become an asshole too?"

"Don't you!" Diane stopped her right there. "Alex. Even if genetically seen you have half of Lee. But as I said, this is not the only thing that defines who you are. You are defined by your choices. You have such a big heart and care so much about your friends and family. Even if I see a few things from Lee in you you're so much not like him. You're such an amazing person I can't even begin to tell you. Even if you don't want to see that sometimes. I love you so much, honey."

"I love you too." Alex replied and hugged her mother tightly. "Thank you for telling me all this." She felt how this talk had exhausted her emotionally. The two just stayed like that for a long time in each other's arms.

_** Sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter. But I promise as long as you don't read THE END at the end of the chapter I will update at some point. I'm not abandoning this story. Also because I want to finish this one so I can start with the next one, that I already have partially planned in my head._


	24. Chapter 24: Special Dreams

_**Hey. I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter. I guess not only my life is crazy right now thanks to corona. But here comes some distraction from that. At least for a couple minutes. I hope you enjoy the chapter._

_Hope everyone is well or getting well soon. Here we go. Enjoy.**_

Chapter 24: Special Dreams

The next weeks passed fast and soon it was Piper's and Alex's 16th birthday. They decided to celebrate together. It was the first time in a couple year since now Piper's parents were more accepting of their 'friendship', at least as far as they knew, and they had no problem when the girls asked if they could have a joined party in the Chapman's garden. They had a great party with all their friends. And again Piper was reminded how much it annoyed her to not be able to tell her parents that she and Alex were together. She wanted to be able to touch her and kiss her. She had contemplated telling them a couple times but was terrified of their reaction. So far her justification had been that she'd do it as soon as she wasn't depended on them anymore so it wouldn't affect her as much if they had a bad reaction - which was very likely, like if they decided to not pay for her to go to college.

The party became a bit slower as now the first guests were leaving. Soon only Alex was still there sitting at the bench next to Piper.

"Did you like the party?" Piper asked Alex.

"Sure I did, it would have been even better if I had had the chance to kiss you every now and then. I've been dying to do that." Alex told her.

"Ugh. I know. Wanna go up to my room for some privacy?" Piper asked her eyes shining mischievously.

"I thought you'd never ask." Alex smiled widely, enjoying Piper's playful mood greatly.

"Let's find Cal and ask him to distract our parents." Piper said looking around. Her younger brother was now fourteen and usually up for everything. Also somehow he always seemed to get himself into trouble, but not serious enough for their parents to actually freak out.

Cal was successful in distracting Carol and Bill and the girls snug up to Piper's room. He made sure Piper knew she now owed him and he'd come to her whenever he needed her to cover for him. Piper dreaded that moment a little already but didn't care that much right now as she just wanted Alex closer and finally kiss her after she hadn't been able to do so the whole afternoon and evening. It's been hard to not just go over to her girlfriend and do the normal things a couple would do. Piper laughed inwardly thinking about the facts that there are quite a few people who didn't like any public display of affection at all but had the chance do so at any minute of the day and then there was her and Alex who would have loved some pda but really couldn't.

The second they closed the door of Piper's room Piper felt Alex's lips on hers and kissed her back immediately.

"Do you have have a clue how hard it has been to watch you all evening and not do that?" Alex said breathlessly after they broke apart.

"I do, actually. Believe me, in my head I've been dragging you up here couple times already. It would have been quite inappropriate though to disappear from our own party, wouldn't it?" Piper teased.

"Dragging me up here, huh?" Alex smirked and Piper melted. Everytime Alex raised her eyebrow to her signature smirk Piper's legs melted like chocolate laying outside on a sunny July afternoon.

"Yes. Do you want to know a secret?" Piper asked teasingly.

"What is it?" Alex looked at her amused.

"I just recently managed to get a key to this door. I can lock my room so no one walks in unexpectedly." Piper said as the sound of a key turning in the lock was heard.

"Uh, I think I like where this is going." Alex replied already turned on immensely.

"Oh, you will like it." Piper said seductively. Their lips reconnected. Their kisses turned more frantic and passionate with each passing second.

"We have to be quiet though. I don't want to know what my mom will do if she hears anything." Piper said breathlessly.

"You mean I can't scream out your name out loud?" Alex teased.

"Alex! Seriously!" the look on Piper's face was horrified.

"Babe, I was joking. I know how your parents are." Alex tried to calm her girlfriend.

"Really not a good topic to be joking about." Piper almost hissed back.

"Sorry, Pipes." Alex looked at her apologetic.

"Apology accepted." Piper said appeased and moved closer again. Shirts and pants were shed and soon the rest of their clothes, too. Even though it was her who made clear they'd have to be quiet it was Piper who had the most difficulty with actually doing so. Alex had to shush her quite a few times to remind her to be more quiet.

A while later they were lying next to each other, both breathless but happy.

"I gotta admit it was quite hard to keep quiet." Piper told Alex and chuckled.

"I noticed." Alex laughed.

"I can't help it. It just feels so good when you touch me like that." Piper replied.

"Like that?" Alex let her hand stroke across Piper's breast, barely touching but giving Piper goosebumps all over her body. Piper moaned quietly.

"Gosh, Alex. Yes." Piper was struggling to find words. Alex gave her a self-satisfied grin. She enjoyed how much her actions affected Piper - maybe a little too much. When Piper turned her head to the side she saw the time on her alarm clock that stood on her nightstand.

"Oh god. Shit." she exclaimed.

Alex looked up surprised from Piper's sudden seriousness. "What?"

"Have you seen what time it is?" Piper whispered.

Alex turned to look at Piper's alarm clock and shrugged. "One thirty in the morning?! What's upsetting about that?"

"As much as I wish it was different, you can't sleep here, Al." Piper said looking sad and almost apologetic. "Who knows…"

"...what will happen if your parents found out." Alex finished for her. She knew that speech and a bit tired of hearing it again and again.

"Are you upset? Cause it clearly sounds like that." Piper was surprised by the sudden change in Alex's mood.

"No... Yes... I'm tired of this whole hiding thing. For a while it was exciting and kinda thrilling, but I am not sure how long I can keep doing this." Alex quietly admitted.

"Al, you know how my parents are!" Piper said.

"I do." Alex replied and got up to collect her clothes.

"Al. Don't be like that." Piper begged but her girlfriend stayed silent. "Please don't leave like that." Piper could feel tears rise. She felt so hurt that Alex didn't even look at her, rather avoided looking at her completely.

"Pipes. I'm not 'leaving' leaving. You asked me to go home, cause you're scared your parents get aware of what we're doing." Alex finally spoke.

"But you're mad, I can see that." Piper gave back, sounding quite hoarse from the lump she felt in her throat.

"It hurts me, that we can't show how happy we are. You know how hard the time was when everyone found out that I like girls. And believe me, Pipes, I do understand the situation with your parents, but I wish we could have a normal relationship like everyone else in this fucking world. Can you understand that this makes me a little upset?" Alex now sat next to Piper who was still naked and looked at her hoping Piper would understand.

"Al. I want that too. All of it. To be able to walk with you holding hands. Do you know how badly I wanted to just go over to you and kiss you this whole afternoon?" Piper explained. "But you've seen my mother and heard what she said when she found out that you are gay. I got a feeling that'll be even worse if she knows her daughter likes girls too."

"I know Pipes." Alex said quietly. "I guess I better leave the old way through the window, huh?"

"I'm so sorry, Al." Piper told her honestly.

Alex turned to leave. "Wait!" Piper exclaimed before she could climb out. "Don't leave without at least a hug!"

Alex chuckled at her demanding tone. "Could you maybe … put some … clothes on? Woah, I never thought I'd say that to you." she laughed and Piper joined in.

"Too tempting, huh?" she teased.

"Always." Alex replied and pulled her into a tight hug as soon as Piper had gotten into her nighty.

"See you tomorrow?" Piper wanted to know.

"Sure." Alex smiled at her and they kissed goodbye and soon Alex was gone.

Piper unlocked her door as quiet as she could and went to the bathroom.

"Thought you were still awake." Piper suddenly heard from the side and she jumped in surprise. Down the hallway she saw Cal standing outside his bedroom door.

"Gosh, Cal. Don't scare me like that!" Piper tried to say quiet as to not wake their parents. "Well, so are you!"

"I hope you and Alex had a nice night." he said with a hint of 'I know what you were doing' in his voice.

"More than that. Pretty satisfying, actually." she teased him.

"Ugh, TMI!" he replied acting sick "Gosh, you better pray C and B don't find out about all this." Cal said.

"Let's hope they won't find out about you smoking weed out your window neither." Piper returned.

"I won't tell if you don't." Cal replied.

"Why should I?" Piper said acting nonchalant. She trusted Cal. He wouldn't tell their parents about her relationship with Alex. He knew what was on stake. But that didn't mean he didn't have fun teasing her.

"Good night, sis." Cal went back into his bedroom. "Oh, and don't forget you owe me for today!"

"How could I?" she whispered back but he had already closed his door.

After a quick run through the bathroom, brushing her teeth and a quick wash, she hopped back into bed. As she was laying there everything around her was quiet. She closed her eyes and heard only her own breathing, smelled her freshly washed bed sheets that also smelled like Alex and - surprise, surprise - like sex. What a combination. She loved that smell. With that smell in her nose and thoughts of Alex in her mind she fell asleep.

XXXXX

Piper woke up in the middle of her dream but wasn't annoyed. It was a great dream. But she woke up in the perfect moment. She was surprised with what had just happened and tried to find out how that was possible. As soon as she calmed down she send Alex a text.

[Piper: You'll never guess what I dreamed this morning. ;-)]

The reply came soon. Obviously Alex was up already, too.

[Alex: Good morning to you too. Mhm. Hard one. I'll go with: We're in the middle of something when your parents walked in?]

[Piper: It wasn't exactly a nightmare! More like the best dream I ever had.]

[Alex: Then tell me.]

[Piper: I'll give you a clue. I woke up and my face looked like this.] Piper quickly took a selfie and send it to Alex.

[Alex: :-O, That's your O-face! You need to tell me now!]

[Piper: Right. Looks like you don't even need to be here to do that to me.]

[Alex: Wait… You're telling me you were having a wet dream and woke up…]

[Piper: In the perfect moment. ;-)]

[Alex: That is sooo hot!]

[Piper: You're hot.]

[Alex: What a comeback, Pipes.]

[Piper: Seriously, I was so surprised. I had no idea that that was possible.]

[Alex: Seems like you can't get enough of me.]

[Piper: Could I ever?]

[Alex: Gosh, all dreams I ever had suck in comparison to this one.]

[Piper: I guess smelling you and our activities from last night and thinking of you when I fell asleep were leading to this great dream.]

[Alex: Guess we should repeat this.]

[Piper: Great idea.]

"Piper!" she heard shouting from the floor and seconds later Cal burst into her room. "Goodness, me and mom have been calling you for ages!"

"Gosh, Cal, ever heard of knocking?" Piper almost shouted at him.

"Like you've heard that after ten minutes of everyone calling you. What were you doing anyway?" Cal wanted to know as he noticed his sisters slight inconvenience.

"Texting with Alex." she replied trying to sound as calm and gathered as she could.

"Rather sexting from the look of it." Cal smirked.

"None of your freaking business." Piper replied. "Why were you bursting in like that anyway?"

"Breakfast is ready and everyone is waiting for you. Thought you wanted to know." Cal replied as he retreated from her room with a smug smile on his face.

XXXXX

Later that day she and Alex met at the diner.

"Hey you." Alex greeted her as Piper arrived couple minutes after her.

"Hi." Piper sat down next to her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"How was your day so far?" Alex asked.

"Mhm. It started great and keeps getting better." Piper replied with a laugh and Alex joined.

They kept chatting for a while and both ordered a milkshake. Then Alex phone rang; indicating that someone had texted her. She shortly read and told Piper that it was Nicky asking what she was doing when Piper looked at her questioningly. She quickly texted back and answered the question Piper had asked her before she was distracted by Nicky's text. She was just done answering when the next text came in.

"Nicky asks if it's okay if she joins us?" Alex looked at Piper questioningly.

"Sure." Piper answered and smiled. "We haven't seen each other in a while." she joked.

They kept chatting until Nicky joined them and greeted her. They had already ordered her a milkshake too.

"So how was the rest of your evening?" Nicky wanted to know.

"Pretty good. Piper finally organized a key for her bedroom." Alex smirked smugly.

"Ah, I see." Nicky gave back a knowing smile.

"And obviously it was so memorable that it totally inspired Piper's dreams." Alex replied, smiling at Piper. She knew Piper would probably play a little coy but didn't really have a problem if she told Nicky. The two shared almost everything with their friend. Of course there were boundaries but less than in other friendships. Probably a result of knowing her for so long and the fact that Nicky was gay too.

"Uhh, someone obviously dreamed something really naughty." Nicky was highly entertained.

"Ugh, so what? You've never had a sexy dream?" Piper tried to act as nonchalant as she could.

"Oh, sure. But not with that result." Alex replied a bit more quiet to tease Piper a little.

"What result?" now Nicky was getting really curious.

"Let's say Piper had an amazing start into this day." Alex replied. Nicky looked at Piper trying to make her give her a bit more.

"Okay fine." Piper finally gave in. "I dreamed of Alex and well a few things we did last night" she chuckled "and woke up to an orgasm."

Nicky's eyes went wide. "Are you saying this one made you orgasm without even being there?" she pointed unbelievingly at Alex.

"Well, basically my mind did that." Piper retorted.

"I can't believe it. You two are unbelievable!" Nicky laughed still incredulous. "Life is never boring with the two of you around."

"You're welcome. Your entertainment system to your service." Alex gave back sarcastically.

The three of them stayed for a while longer and kept talking about everything that went on in their lives.

The next weeks went by and everything went as it normally did. The topic of telling Piper's parents came up a few more times between Alex and Piper but they found no solution to the problem. Alex understood Piper very well when she said she was scared they would react badly. But she also wanted to have a relationship she didn't have to hide all the time. She got the question at school a few times recently; if she was single. She told them the truth. That she had a girlfriend but the situation with her parents was complicated so they had keep it from anyone so it wouldn't make their way to them.

One afternoon in July Piper sat in the Chapman's kitchen and read an article online and drank the coffee she just made when her dad came in.

"You're home early." Piper stated. Her dad went over to the coffee machine and poured himself a coffee into his favourite cup.

"Yes. I skipped the last meeting and went home. I think they'll do just fine without me." he explained.

"Anything going on today, that made you skip the meeting?" Piper asked trying to remember if there was some dinner invitation or anything she forgot.

"No. No reason really." Bill started but then obviously changed his mind. "Well today during lunch break I went out with a few colleagues. We walked down the street and I saw this boy on the other side of the street waving at me. It seriously took me a bit to see that it was Cal. And I was quite embarrassed with myself that it took me so long to recognize my own son. If he hadn't waved at me I probably wouldn't have noticed that he stood there. That made me realize that I hadn't been home much. And that over the last years. Not just recently. I knew I had to change something." he told her looking down like he was still embarrassed by that situation.

"Oh, okay." Piper didn't really know what to say.

"I also want to say sorry. To you and I will later talk to Cal too. For being so absent. I think I missed quite a few things in both of your lives. And for what? Doing things at work I should have delegated to coworkers. I'm sorry, Piper. That I wasn't here for some events that happened when you would have wanted me there too. Also for leaving you two to deal with your mother alone. I know she can be quite a handful and at times I had problems dealing with that too. Sometimes she has these weird concessions and views and I haven't been there to hold her back sometimes when she went a step too far. But I want to change that. I want to be there for you and Cal from now on and I sincerely hope it's not too late for that." he looked at her hopeful.

"Wow, dad. I, uh… I don't know what to say." Piper was nearly speechless. She hadn't been expecting anything like this. "Apology accepted. And I don't think anything is too late."

Bill smiled. "That's good to hear."

"Also. It has been hard sometimes with mom. So… I'll give you some time to think about how you can make that up to us." Piper said and smirked.

"I will. Okay. Is your brother home?" Bill asked and Piper nodded and told him Cal was in his room.


	25. Chapter 25: Break-Ups and Arguments

Chapter 25: Break-Ups and Arguments

Her dad made his promise true. He was home earlier every day and used most of his time trying to make it up to his kids. Cal wasn't so overly excited about it. He had enjoyed the 'being by himself' time a lot and currently lived through his 'my parents are the most embarrassing people in the world' phase. Piper however liked it, she always had had a better relationship with her father than with her mom. The two of them developed a new routine. Everytime Bill came home they drank a cup of coffee together, sit in the kitchen and do the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper. While sitting there together they talked about almost anything. Bill was happy about his time with his daughter as he learned quite a few new things about her. Slowly he had to admit that Piper indeed wasn't his little girl anymore but was growing up and developed into a independent young woman. The realisation that he would have to let her go to live her own life in the nearer future pained him a lot. Both of them enjoyed their time together a lot. Sometimes Cal joined them to chat a little but that was rather rare.

Couple weeks later Piper met with Michael on a sunny and warm afternoon in September. They had agreed to go swimming and Alex had promised to join them later after she was done with her household chores. She obviously had tested Diane's patience a bit too much and was forced to finally do everything she had procrastinated.

"How did your talk go with - Brandon was it?" Piper started. Even though it had been months since they had first talked about him they hadn't talked again after that.

"Oh. Not so good actually." Michael shortly admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Piper replied honestly.

"It's okay. Really." Michael answered.

"I sense that you don't really want to talk about it, do you?" Piper carefully tested.

"There isn't much to talk about, actually. We talked a couple times and had some really nice conversations. And then I eventually brought it up and said that a friend of me is actually struggling with his sexuality and that he just discovered that he is gay. And I waited for his response. He only commented that these - I won't repeat any bad word he said - can go to hell." he said and it was clear that it had hurt him more than he wanted to admit. "And well I decided I don't want to be friends with people like him."

"Wow. What an asshole. I'm sorry, Michael. But you will find someone who will be right for you. Someone who is nice and kind and deserves to be with you. Someone who isn't a homophobic ass like that Brandon guy." Piper replied.

"It's easy for you to say. You already found someone who makes you happy." Michael replied. "And I'm happy for you and Alex. But sometimes it also makes me a little envious to be honest."

"Don't be. I know there is someone for you too. I am sure you'll find your person too." Piper told him. Michael finally smiled a little.

"Thank you, Piper. You've always been so supportive." he replied.

"You're welcome. And it's what friends do." Piper played it down.

"I'm very glad you're my friend." Michael smiled.

"So am I." Piper replied his smile.

"So Alex is your person?" Michael asked.

"I couldn't imagine being with someone else. I doubt that there is someone out there that'll be a better partner than her. No one knows me like her, I've never felt a similar connection with anyone else ever and well, I just couldn't imagine her not being there with me. Plus have you seen her? She's so sexy and gorgeous I just can't let anyone else have her." Piper laughed. "That sounded so selfish."

"But also very much in love." Michael noticed.. "So Alex is it for you? The whole getting married, having kids thing?"

"Gosh, I'm 16. I'm not thinking about marriage or anything like that yet!" Piper replied a little shocked.

"I know, it was more like could you see yourself doing these things with Alex?" he replied.

"I actually haven't thought about that much. Right now it's more about if I should eventually tell my parents or go on as before and hide that I'm in this relationship?" Piper answered.

"Woah. What has changed that makes you consider telling them?" Michael was surprised.

"Well… I was more thinking about my dad, but I know if I tell my dad I have to tell my mom too." Piper started and told her friend about her dad's recent change of behaviour.

"And you think he will be okay if you told him that you are in a relationship with Alex?" he wanted to know.

"Well I intended to rather start by asking him what he'd say if one of his kids told him that they like the same sex. And then see what happens. It scares me though. A lot." Piper revealed.

"That is reasonable. I actually don't know what the right advice would be right now." he said.

"That's okay. I didn't expect that you had a solution to my problem. I guess no one does." Piper replied.

"I think that's a brave thing to do if you do it." he told her.

"Yeah? Well let's see if I'm brave enough." she stated.

"Brave enough to eventually get in the water?" both heard from their side. "How come you two are dry?"

Piper turned to the voice she immediately recognized to be her girlfriends. "Hey Al. You are here."

"Looks like I am." Alex gave back and Piper rolled her eyes. "You know that's cute, when you roll your eyes like that?" Alex chuckled.

"God you two are too much." Michael said jokingly. "And hi."

"Hi." she turned again to Piper. "Come on. I need some water." she said, threw her stuff next to Pipers and pulled her girlfriend towards the water.

They swam for a while and Michael went and got the beach ball he brought and they played for a bit. After a while Michael said he'd go back to their blanket. Piper and Alex stayed in the water a bit longer enjoying the cool of it and spending time together. As it was a warm but not hot day the pool wasn't visited from too many people and the girls enjoyed having space. Alex and Piper both weren't fans of overcrowded places. Then Piper dove and swam a bit underwater surprising Alex when suddenly appearing next to her. That earned her quite a few splashes and laughter.

"You wait for it." Alex only replied as she remembered something Piper would always do when they went swimming when they were kids.

"Huh, what are you gonna do about it?" Piper grinned back, clearly challenging her girlfriend.

Alex didn't answer but instead just swam, like she wasn't up to anything. Piper obviously decided to just follow and soon swam next to her. That's when Alex dove and as Piper used to do when they were kids pulled her down too. After a short shocked look on her face it turned into a wide smile as Piper realized what Alex did. They shortly stayed there like that, floating in the water almost weightlessly. Then Piper pulled Alex closer and kissed her. It was only a short kiss as both had to come up for air but both smiled at each other widely when they got out of the water.

"There you are. For a short second I thought you two drowned." Michael laughed as he saw them approaching.

"Sure..." Alex chuckled.

The three kept chatting about different topics. Alex was the first who suggested swimming another round. As they were swimming next to each other Piper addressed Michael again and brought the conversation back to the topic they'd been discussing before they got interrupted by Alex's arrival.

"There's another thing I wanted you to ask." Piper started.

"What is it?" Michael wanted to know.

"When I tell my dad about me and Alex, he surely wants to know about you and me. And we need to discuss this before so I know what to tell him." she told him.

"What do you mean, what do you want to tell him?" Michael was confused.

"Well there are different options. I could tell him the truth, that we were just pretending to be together and ask him not to tell anyone, but I'm not sure how this will turn out. Or I could tell him that we broke up. We'd both have to play the broken hearted teenager for a short bit but at some point that had to happen. We can still be friends. We just have to figure out how we explain it to everyone so that it still makes sense." Piper explained her thoughts.

"Urgh. I don't know if I'm ready for this Piper. I'd rather you tell your dad we broke up, but then I have to tell my parents too, cause they'll get mad if they meet your dad or mom somewhere and they'd tell them. When we do this, they'll be just like before we started this. They'll set me up with some girl and I don't know how that'll end. And I'm so not ready to come out to my parents." he told her honestly.

"Well, you could first play the broken hearted a bit longer and then tell them that you aren't ready for something new yet. That buys you some time. Not forever, but a bit and at some point you're going to leave for college and that'll end that problem anyway. They can't set you up like that anymore if you're not living at home." Piper concluded.

"That doesn't sound so bad actually. But if I play the broken hearted and act like this break up is really hard on me, it's going to be hard to find an explanation of how we're still friends." Michael argued.

"Oh, yeah. That's true." Piper went silent. She didn't have an answer to that. They discussed that a bit longer but didn't find a solution to the problem Michael had pointed out. Alex suggested they'd tell everyone they broke up, Michael would have problems coping with the break up and that they keep low profile and just text for a while and as Michael 'slowly recovers from the heartbreak' they can be more open about being friends. People will ask questions, but that's something they could deal with. Michael and Piper liked the idea and soon agreed.

After another few rounds of swimming and playing with their beach ball they decided to leave and go home.

"So. I guess we won't see each other for a while. Since we're officially broken up now." Piper said to Michael.

"Guess so. We'll text and I'll call you as often as I can. You'll be annoyed by me." he laughed.

"We'll see." Piper joined in the laughter. They hugged goodbye and Piper and Alex walked to the Vauses house. Piper had told her parents she'd go swimming with Michael and Alex and stay over at her 'friend's' house after.

"You really want to tell your dad?" Alex asked after a while of walking silently next to each other.

"Yes. And maybe at some point my mom too. I don't know how this will go with my dad. If he reacts bad to the general idea I might not tell him. But I want to. I'm so tired of hiding this. I love you and I want them to know that. I want to show them that part of me. I don't want to hide any longer who I am from my parents or anyone for that matter." Piper explained.

Alex smiled widely. "I would love that too. To be open about how we feel for each other. I'm really proud of you, Pipes."

Piper blushed a little. "Thank you, Al."

"Hey you two." Diane greeted them when they entered the Vause's living room.

"Hi, mom." "Hi, Diane." the girls greeted back.

"Would you be up to a game night?" Diane wanted to know.

They looked at each other. "That actually sounds like a lot of fun. I'm in." Piper answered the first and Alex soon agreed. They quickly hung up their wet swimsuits and towels and then went back to the living room where the rest had already gathered around the table.

They started with a few family games but when Felix couldn't handle losing two times in a row he got so upset that Diane sent him to his room to calm down. After a couple minutes she checked on him again but he said he didn't want to play anymore games so Diane, Louis, Alex and Piper went on playing without him.

"What next?" Louis asked.

"Ludo?" Piper suggested. One of her favourites. Everyone agreed.

"Hey! Not again!" Alex complained a while later when Piper with her red meeple kicked her last green one out.

"That's how the rules are, Al." Piper complained.

"I know. But how about you kick out that yellow one over there. It was the same distance! And mom got like three meeples more out there than me. I have to restart completely." Alex pointed out.

"Yes but look how close that one is to be safe in there? It would be really mean to kick her out like two fields before she made it." Piper argued.

"Exactly. Do you want to win this game? It wasn't designed to be nice to the people you're playing with." Alex argued back. "I can't believe it. Seems like you like my mom more than me."

"Oh, you know that's not true." Piper gave back grinning slightly.

"Girls, don't fight over a simple board game. It's okay, Piper, kick me out." Diane tried to calm the waves but Alex quickly answered. "No. She made her choice. No taking back once it's done." she looked at Piper teasingly.

They kept playing and in the end Louis won. The girls said goodnight and went up to Alex's room. As soon as the door was closed - and locked - Alex felt Piper really close behind her and heard her whisper seductively in her ear "I think I need to show you how much more I like you than anyone else on this fucking planet.". Hearing this turned her on immediately and she could feel goosebumps rise all over her body.

"Yes, please." Alex answered her voice raspy and deep and her eyes filled with desire.

XXXXX

The next morning Piper had to go home after breakfast even if she'd rather stayed, but her mother wanted her back home. And if she really wanted to tell her parents soon about her and Alex she wanted to have a trouble free time before she did so, which hopefully would put them in a more understanding and positive mood.

When she got home Polly texted her asking if she could come over. Half an hour later she arrived at the Chapman's house and was greeted by Carol. Piper came just down the stairs and they went up to Piper's room together.

"Hey, Pol. What's up?" Piper asked.

"I don't know really." Polly answered and soon added. "I think I'm going to break up with Will."

"What? Why? What happened?" Piper wanted to know. That her friend wasn't happy in her relationship anymore was news to her. She had been raving about her boyfriend of a bit over six months about a week ago. It had seemed like they were still totally and utterly in love.

"He's always so absent when we meet recently. He barely listens and if I ask him something all I get is a yes or no. And I think if I asked him what I just told him or asked like a minute earlier he'd have no clue. Besides we barely even spend time together." Polly explained.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Last week you were like 'Oh we're the best couple ever.'" Piper voiced her surprise.

"I know. And in a way I wanted to be. But obviously saying so doesn't make it true." Polly told her.

"Have you tried talking to him about it? I mean, maybe he didn't notice or something else is on his mind recently and he'll do things differently?" Piper asked.

"No. Not yet." Polly admitted.

"Then do. Don't end your relationship before you haven't tried to fix what is bothering you." Piper reminded her friend.

"Says the one with the perfect relationship." Polly mumbled but Piper heard her.

"What? Great that it looks like that but Alex and I argue quite often actually. But we discuss everything and tell each other about everything. You just don't notice cause we tend to do that in private." Piper explained. She was surprised that her friend thought of her and Alex as a couple that never argued and everything was love, peace, and harmony.

"Oh. Okay. I didn't know that." Polly gave back.

"It would be weird, wouldn't it? It's bound to happen that there is a misunderstanding, that two people have different opinions or want to approach things differently. For a relationship that's supposed to work you need to be able to talk about things." Piper reasoned.

"Wow. When did you become so … grown-up?" Polly asked taken aback a little.

"I don't know if I'd say that. But it's true. Alex and I just had a little argument yesterday. We talked about everything, told each other how we felt about it and everything was fine." Piper said.

"May I ask what it was about?" Polly was curious.

"Alex was upset that I didn't tell her I wanted to 'break up' with my fake-boyfriend. We met Michael at the pool yesterday. And I forgot to let Alex know that I wanted to talk to him about ending our fake-relationship. We talked about it and no one is upset anymore." Piper explained.

"Okay. Good to know. I always thought you two are just… I don't know. I never thought about it like that." Polly replied.

"That's okay. But talk to Will. Maybe things are different than what it looks like. And he can only react if he knows about your feelings." Piper pushed her a little.

"I will. I promise. And thank you for your advice." Polly seemed content with that plan. The two of them continued to talk about various things before Polly had to go home. "Bye, Pipes. See you at school tomorrow."

"Bye. See you tomorrow. And let me know how that talk with Will goes!" Piper requested. Polly nodded and was out of the door.


	26. Chapter 26: Time to talk

_***Hey. Here another update. I hope you'll like it. I'm sorry the updates take so long, but things are a little upside down currently. But I will finish this story and - as I promised - as long as you don't read THE END at the end of the chapter, there will be an update. I've got so many ideas for other stories already, I'm trying to finish this story some time soon, but I still have quite a few things planned for the two, so there a a few chapters to come. Can't tell how many yet. I'm at 230 pages in my word document already, which surprises me a little, as my other story wasn't even close to this. But I'm improving as this isn't my first story anymore. Here comes the next chapter. Enjoy._

Chapter 26: Time to talk

The next week went by and Piper didn't find the courage to address the topic she wanted to bring up with her dad yet. Alex offered to come over and be there too, but Piper had rejected her offer saying she had to do that by herself. Still Piper found it very sweet of her girlfriend to offer this. It wasn't an easy situation for her and probably not less stressful for Alex. She decided to go step by step and on Monday afternoon she told him about the 'break up' between her and Michael.

"I'm sorry to hear that." her father said sincerely after she told him. They were sitting in the kitchen, drank their coffee and were about to start the crossword puzzle when Piper blurted out that Michael and her had ended their relationship.

"It's okay, really. It was my decision, actually." Piper said.

"Still, break ups aren't easy." Bill replied.

"No." Piper just said. She really wanted to tell him the whole truth. That it hadn't been hard at all. That it was a purely rational decision she and Michael made together. That it hadn't been hard because it was the first step to being honest about her and Alex. But she couldn't do this because it would lead to a whole other discussion she wasn't ready to have yet. Instead she turned her attention towards solving the crossword puzzle.

"That's ALPHA." Piper said. Bill held the pencil. He looked at her a little surprised but quickly noticed that she was referring to the crossword puzzle. "Which one?"

Piper pointed at the field. "Here. First greek letter." Bill filled in the solution. They went on for a while until Piper finally gathered enough courage.

"Dad." she started, waiting for him to look up.

"Where?" he looked across the page.

"No. Not in there. I wanted to ask you something." now he finally looked up and nodded, waiting for her to ask. "A while ago you and mom reacted - not so well - so to say when you found out about Alex." she didn't have to go further as he knew what she meant. "Now. Some time has passed and I feel like a few things might have changed a little." she started and stopped. She was getting so nervous that she didn't trust her tongue to form the right words.

"What is this about, Piper?" Bill wanted to know.

"What if one of us, Danny, me or Cal came to you and told you they liked the same sex?" Piper finally ripped off that band aid.

"Where is this coming from, sweetie?" Bill asked back.

"Does it matter? Could you just answer the question, please." Piper urged him.

"I know the reaction to finding out that Alex liked girls wasn't great, especially your mom's." he started. "I know I held back in saying anything about the whole topic and stayed out of the discussion with your mother for a long time. For too long. And I'm sorry about that, I really am." he looked at her, hoping she'd accept his apology. Piper nodded and waited anxiously for her father to go on. "Well, to be honest, it would shock me a little, but at the end of the day I want you three to be happy and live the life that you want to have and be the person you want to be. And if it's a girl that makes you happy, or a boy who makes Cal or Danny happy then I'm going to accept that." he finished.

Piper wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't what she had expected. But what had she expected, really?

"This isn't about Cal or Danny right?" Bill cautiously asked.

"Uhm, no. It isn't. I, uhm. I do like both. Well actually I've never felt drawn to a boy like I feel to my girlfriend so I think I rather identify myself as gay, if you have to put a label on it. It's a spektrum and not really an either or situation." Piper rambled on and Bill was a little amused by her daughters quick jumps.

"Girlfriend, huh?" he just asked. Piper blushed deeply red.

"Uhm, yeah." she nervously admitted.

"What about you and Michael? This confuses me a little to be honest." Bill tried to follow.

"That's a long story, actually. Can you promise me not to tell anyone? Not his parents? And maybe not mom either?" she looked at him almost begging.

"You have to tell you mother too, Piper. We can't keep this from her. And I know this might scare you, but there is no way around. I'll tell her with you if you want." Bill insisted.

"I know. And I'll do that. And yes, I'd be very thankful if you'd be there with me. But I meant the part about Michael. It's complicated and his parents can't hear anything about this from us. He needs to do that by himself, when the time is right. So. I'll tell mom, but leave out the part about Michael, okay?" Piper pleaded.

"Okay. Now. What is with you and Michael." he asked to know.

So Piper told him everything. From already being together with her girlfriend - she didn't tell that it was Alex yet - and the dinner when the Wiley's came over the first time. About both needing to hide something and agreeing to fake a relationship. "I'm sorry that I lied about all that, but I couldn't tell you and mom about all that. Especially not after the thing with Alex."

"Don't apologize Piper. I am the one who should be sorry, and Carol too. We should be the ones apologizing. It makes me really sad that you had to go through this and couldn't tell us. Being in love and happy is something you want to show and scream out to the world. I am so so sorry that you couldn't do that, because you were scared of our reaction. I totally understand that you decided to play along and pretend to be in a relationship to make us happy. But from now on, I don't want you to do that anymore. You need to be happy. Not make others happy. At least not by pretending to be something you're not." hearing that Piper couldn't hold back, the tears came without chance to hold them back. She hugged her dad tightly.

"Thank you dad. You can't believe how happy it makes me to hear you say that.", she sobbed.

"Thank you, Piper. I'm so proud of you. For being this strong woman even if it means I have to accept now that you're not my little girl anymore." he chuckled. "And don't be scared about telling your mother. I'll be there and she won't dare say anything mean."

"Thanks, dad." Piper was speechless. "I love you." now that made Bill speechless. He couldn't remember when any of his kids told him that the last time.

"I love you too, sweetie." he said and felt tears rise. "And by the way. Introduce your girlfriend sometime, won't you?" he chuckled.

"You know her already, dad." Piper told him and saw his face change from confusion to realization. "It's Alex, isn't it?" Piper nodded.

"We've been together for about a year and a half now." she told him.

"And you have been really good at hiding that you two are in a relationship. I had no clue." Bill chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad you know now." Piper said. "Cause I'm tired of hiding."

She was relieved but also scared. She still had to tell her mother. And her reaction would very likely be a lot different. It calmed her though to know her dad would be there and have her back. Now she just wanted to tell Alex about her first success. She also needed to text Michael about being completely honest to her dad and that he promised to not tell anyone about the fake relationship part.

She quickly got a few things from her room and went to the hallway to go over to see Alex.

"You're leaving. You don't want to tell your mother now and be done with that?" her father wanted to know.

"Uhm, no. Another day, okay? I've had too much excitement for one day already. I promise I'll do it soon. But I can't do it right now." Piper explained.

"That's okay. Let's me know when you'll tell her if you want me to be there. Where are you going?" he wanted to know.

"I will let you know. And I want to tell Alex, actually." she replied.

"Good. See you later. Have fun." Bill smiled at her. He loved seeing Piper happy and excited.

XXXXX

Piper rung the bell and waited impatiently for someone to open. She hadn't texted Alex that she'd come over and hoped she'd be home. And she was. It was her who opened the door soon.

"Hey Pipes." she said with the biggest smile on her face. Piper couldn't help but return the smile too. "That's unexpected. But very welcome."

"I've got some amazing news." she said as they went in. And then she told Alex about her long talk with her dad.

"Oh my god, that's fantastic." Alex was excited too. "And I'm so proud of you for being so brave and telling your dad." she pulled Piper close and hugged her.

"I feel so relieved. But I'm dreading the conversation with my mother a little." Piper replied honestly. "Not just a little, to be honest."

"Which is completely reasonable after everything she said and did." Alex told her girlfriend. "But you'll have your dad there and me too if you want to."

"Thanks, Al. But I'm not sure if it's a good idea if you'd be there too. I promised my dad I'll do it soon and I will. But that doesn't make it less scary. It is good that my dad is going to be there. That way I'll know that it can't go that bad." Piper explained.

"It's going to be okay. And we're all here for you. We have to celebrate that first step!" Alex tried to take Piper's mind off the talk with her mother.

"That's right. Are you alone at home?" Piper asked. She just noticed that they were alone and she hadn't heard any noise from any of the other rooms.

"Yeah, mom is taking Felix to a friends for the afternoon and dad didn't get home from work yet. He's got some kind of teacher's conference." Alex let her know.

"So what did you have in mind of how we should celebrate?" Piper asked smiling seductively at Alex.

"I think you got the right idea." Alex closed the gap between them and kissed Piper. Slowly and emotional first but soon more passionately and intense.

"I like where this is going." Piper said laughingly as Alex pulled her towards her room.

XXXXX

She had set herself the ultimatum that she'd tell her mom by the end of the week and now it was Friday and she was so nervous that she felt sick. She and Alex were walking home from school and Alex tried to start a conversation a couple times, but Piper didn't really react to her efforts.

"I'm sorry." Piper eventually said. "I don't mean to be rude. I'm just so nervous. I need to tell my mom today and it's freaking me out. I don't .."

"Shh." Alex interrupted her. She had already thought that Piper didn't mean anything bad by not replying. She had noticed how fidgety her girlfriend was. "It's okay Pipes. I'd be nervous too. Actually I am a little nervous too, to be honest. But look at it this way: as soon as you told her, we can finally do things like a normal couple. Hold hands whenever we want to. Be open about us being a couple. I can kiss you whenever I want to, which is basically always." a smug grin spread across her face. Piper returned the grin, pulled Alex closer and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I'll just tell her. Like ripping off a bandaid, I'll just tell her." Piper said not sounding very confident though.

"I think it is very brave of you to tell her. Especially after her first reaction. I'm proud of you, you know that, right?" Alex told her sincerely.

Piper immediately felt more confident hearing these words from her girlfriend. She smiled at Alex. This time it reached her eyes. "Thank you. I wish it was over and I'd be done with it."

"You'll be soon." Alex tried to encourage her further. "And as soon as you're done you can come over and we'll celebrate. No matter what she'll say, I'll be here waiting for you." As she said 'celebrate' she raised her eyebrow to her signature smirk. Piper couldn't help but kiss that smirk off her face. Soon enough - too soon thought Piper - they arrived at the Vause's house. From there it would only be a couple more minutes until Piper was home and the 'disaster' - as Piper referred to it in her mind - would take its course.

"Remember: whatever she'll say, me, my family and all your friends love you and will be there for you. Also, you got your dad on your side, so it hopefully won't be that bad. And try to think about how we can be open and out like a normal couple as soon as she knows. I know you can't wait for it." Alex reassured her.

"Thank you, Al. It doesn't make me less nervous but makes me feel like everything is gonna be alright." Piper said fidgeting with the zipper of her jacket. "I'll try to come over as soon as I can."

"I'm here, waiting for you. I love you Pipes." Alex pulled her closer and kissed her. She knew that it was hard for Piper to go that step. She had been a nervous wreck herself when she decided to tell her mother that she was gay. But she was really proud of her girlfriend to eventually take that step. Comparing their mother's openness and open-mindedness regarding that topic it might even be a even bigger step for Piper than it was for her. Yes, Alex had been very nervous when she told Diane, but she had been pretty sure that her mother would accept her sexual orientation as long as Alex was happy.

"I love you, too, Al." Piper smiled at her after returning the kiss. She slowly started walking towards her home, trying to postpone the moment of facing her mother as long as she could.

"Go, Pipes. Just get it over with. And then we can celebrate. Just like a bandaid, remember?" Alex shouted to her girlfriend.

"I know." Piper whined.

Couple minutes later she was home. She found her dad in the kitchen like most afternoons. He looked up when he heard someone coming into the room.

"Hi, Piper." he greeted. "How was your day so far?"

"Hi, dad." she replied. "Nerve-racking, actually. Is mom home? I think today is the day."

Bill nodded understandingly. "She's outside in the garden. You want me to get her?"

"Yeah, thanks. I think it's better done in here. The neighbours don't have to overhear that." she said, thinking of the Browns next door who always loved to know about everything and asked anyone they met about everything, even if it was something small like a new colour on their cushions on their garden furniture. Bill just nodded knowingly and went outside to get Carol.

"Hi, Piper. You're home already." her mother greeted her as she walked into the kitchen. "Your father told me you wanted to talk to me."

"Uh, yes." Piper's mouth went completely dry, she never felt so nervous. "I want you to hear me out before you say something and listen to what I have to tell you, okay?" she looked at Carol seriously. Carol nodded signaling she was ready to hear what Piper had to tell her.

"So. You might have heard that Michael and I broke up." she started. Carol looked at her surprised. "Okay, obviously you haven't. We broke up recently, as we both didn't feel like this was working anymore." she stopped. She felt that her mother wanted to say something but held back and Piper was thankful that she did as she had asked her to and let her finish with everything before saying anything.

"It wasn't so recently though, that I realised something else. I like girls, mom. If you want to put a label on it you could say I'm bisexual, I have to admit that I'm not as attracted to boys as I am to girls, so actually I'd consider myself gay rather than bisexual." it all came out like a waterfall. Piper hoped her mother had understood everything after it had come out at such a speed, she didn't want to repeat any of it. She watched Carol turn as pale as she could.

"Piper!" she exclaimed rather whisper-shouting. "You? No." she looked almost disappointed and quite distressed. Piper wondered where her thoughts were going currently. Then Carol looked up. "I knew it. I told you that.." she started sounding almost angry now.

Piper interrupted her. "If you are going to say that Alex was a bad influence on me, then stop right there. It would be amazing if you would maybe read a few things about sexual orientation. People are born that way. Not turned to behave like that or believe oneself is gay. Who you fall in love with is not a decision or a choice. It just happens. And for part of all humankind that doesn't mean that the other one has the opposite sex. I don't need you to be super-excited about this. But I need you to accept who I am and that I am happy with that. Can you at least do that?" Piper asked her, fidgeting again with her zipper.

"I.. I don't know, Piper. Give me time, okay." her mother seemed taken aback slightly by Piper's remarks.

"Okay." Piper agreed. 'This went better than I ever dreamed it would.' she was pleasantly surprised. She had thought her mother would lose it. She remembered a few things she had said earlier when she heard Alex was gay. But obviously her mother had changed. And she liked that.

XXXXX

"Calm down, will you?" Diane asked Alex who paced around the livingroom relentlessly.

"It's..., I don't know..., I can't." Alex replied. Diane knew what was happening and why Alex was so nervous, but she made everyone else nervous too with her restlessness.

"You know, we'll all be there for both of you, no matter what Carol will say." Diane tried to assure her.

"I know, I'm just scared that she'll say something bad and it'll hurt Piper. I hate seeing her down like that." Alex explained.

"And it is totally normal to feel that way if it's about someone you love." Diane reasoned. "But could you please stop pacing around like that? It's freaking everyone out."

"Sorry." Alex apologized quietly and sat down on the couch where she had here troubles of holding still too.

XXXXX

Carol had gone back outside and Piper tried to give her space and time to think about everything. She had wanted to tell her about Alex being her girlfriend too and contemplated whether to go outside and tell her or just to leave it for another day.

She turned to her father. "Well, her reaction was better than I thought it would be." she said.

"You have to give your mother a little more credit. She's not a bad person, you know?" he chuckled. He didn't believe Piper thought of her mother as a bad person even if they had their disagreements in the past. "She's learning too. And sometimes that takes time. She grew up so differently, I hope you understand that. I'm not trying to say that how she behaved and what she said in the past is right or was justified. But she's doing her best to change, I hope you can see that." Piper nodded. She understood and she was grateful that her mother's reaction wasn't like years ago when she found out about Alex.

"Do you mind if I go over to Alex? I think she's desperately waiting for me to come tell her how it went." Piper looked at her dad questioningly.

"Not at all." Bill smiled at her. He remembered how he felt back when he was young and in love.

On her way out she ran into her mother in the hallway.

"Hey." Piper said. "Everything okay?"

"Sure. It'll take a while for me to wrap my head around that. But I want to be a better mother to you and the boys. I know my - as you might call them - conservative views have caused you quite some trouble. I'm learning, Piper. I want you to be happy. But it'll take some time to accept that your idea of happiness might be different from mine. So, give me some time, will you?" Carol explained.

"Yes. Of course. Take the time you need. I was actually pretty scared to tell you, but I wanted you to know this part of me." Piper explained. Carol gave a weak smile at that along with a almost apologetic look. She noticed Piper was about to leave.

"May I ask where you are going?" she asked cautiously.

"I, uhm, to see my girlfriend. I promised to tell her as soon as I could." Piper said waiting anxiously for her reaction.

"Girlfriend, huh?" Carol asked surprised. "You didn't say anything about that earlier."

"Uh, well. I thought it was better to, you know, give you some time to wrap your head around my 'confession'" her nerves were back and she felt almost as nervous as before.

"I understand that." Carol nodded. "Does she make you happy?"

"Yes, mom, she does. Very much so." Piper replied. Carol could see in her eyes that her daughter was happy just by thinking about her girlfriend and could see love in her eyes. It made her happy and she knew she could accept it, if it was what it took to see her daughter happy like this.

"I see. Then I'm happy for you. Bring her here someday, will you? I'm curious." Carol said. It took Piper by surprise a little, if she was honest.

"Uh, sure. It's Alex, actually." she told her.

"Oh, really?" now Carol seemed surprised. "Well, I'm happy for you two. And I'm really sorry about my earlier behaviour. I… it's just…. it's hard to explain. But I will, if you want. But I think you can't wait to go over to see her." Piper had barely seen her mother ramble like this. This was new and definitely caught her by surprise. "Oh and even though I know who your - girlfriend - is now. Bring her over soon, okay? I think I need to apologize."

"Okay." was all that Piper could muster. She made her way to the Vause's still speechless and unbelieving of what just happened. Alex had obviously been watching the street as the door was opened before she even reached the bell.

"Hey." she greeted, anxiously to see what mood her girlfriend was in.

"Hey." Piper replied back, her face not giving away much. She couldn't quite grab what had happened yet.

"How did it go?" Alex asked cautiously as they walked into the living room. Diane sat on the couch and was curious too and ready to help Piper if it had gone badly.

"I… I don't know. I don't know what just happened." Piper said. Alex looked at her questioningly. She didn't know what mood she had expected but clearly something else than this… she didn't even have a word for it.

"Okay. Slow. You want something to drink? And then maybe you can tell me how it went?" Alex guided her toward the couch.

Piper took the tea that Diane made for her and slowly started talking about the initial talk with her mother in the kitchen and the second one in the hallway. And about asking Alex to come over and owing an apology. She could see that this took Alex by surprise too.

"It was about time she realized her bad behaviour." Diane said and left the two to talk.


	27. Chapter 27: Future

Chapter 27: Future

Piper was in a really good mood the next weeks and everyone noticed. She felt like she was free and was immensely proud that she'd done the 'liberation' herself. The released burden of still having to tell her parents took a heavy weight off her shoulders as soon as it was gone. Piper wore a smile the whole next week and infected everyone around her with her good mood and happiness.

"I love seeing you this happy and sparkling." Alex told her when they were at the pool two weekends after Piper finally told her mother.

"It's because I can finally do this…" Piper moved closer and kissed Alex "...and not be scared."

"That makes me happy, too. I love that we can finally be open about being a couple. And I love you." Alex replied with a short peck on Piper's lips. Even though she wasn't the biggest fan of pda they had shown it so much more the last weeks, because now they could, up to the point that their friends complained about too much of it. They didn't really care. They were happy they could eventually do what they had wanted for so long and they wouldn't let anyone ruin that for them.

"Aww, look who gets sappy now!" Piper teased her. "And I love you too." she quickly added.

"You know you'll be in trouble if you tell anyone." Alex replied. She enjoyed Piper's playful mood and played along most times.

"Afraid they notice you have a soft side, too?!" Piper kept on teasing.

"I have a reputation to lose." Alex reasoned.

"Oh yeah? As a bad ass lesbian that doesn't show feelings to anyone but her girlfriend and family?" Piper chuckled.

"Is that what it looks like? I just don't want a reputation as someone sappy…" Alex explained.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Piper replied.

"I know." Alex said as she leaned into Piper. "You know, I'm proud of us."

"For what exactly?" Piper looked at her curiously.

"So many things. I mean, first - transitioning from best friends to girlfriends isn't an easy step, then when your mother found out about me being gay and almost forced you to stay away and almost send you to that boarding school. And then telling your parents. None of that was easy. And we made it through all of that. That makes me proud." Alex told her.

"That's true. We can totally be proud of that." Piper smiled at her. She got quiet and thoughtful.

"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked.

"Mhm. Is anyone at home at your place?" Piper wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. Why?" Alex looked at her confused.

"I'd rather show you than tell you what I was thinking about and how much I appreciate we made it through all this.." she leaned in, whispered it seductively in Alex's ear and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Ah, I like what you were thinking." Alex smirked.

"I thought so. Wanna go check?" Piper asked.

"Hell yeah." Alex replied at the prospect of sex with her obviously horny girlfriend. She got up quite quickly and collected the things that were scattered around them. They were lucky and everyone of Alex's family was out of the house.

XXXXX

Just as she had been asked for Piper gave her mother some time to get used to her liking girls. About two weeks after their talk Carol asked Piper to invite Alex over for dinner. Alex was a little apprehensive at first but she had followed Carol's change of behaviour and with a few encouraging words from her girlfriend she agreed to come over to have dinner. It was the first time since they were a couple that she'd officially went over and met the Chapmans as Piper's girlfriend. Not that she hadn't visited ever since Carol had been more accepting of her orientation but it had never been with the Chapman's knowing that she was Piper's girlfriend. The thought of this being a first made her quite nervous if she was honest, though she didn't like to admit things like that, things which made her feel less confident.

Her nervousness was taken a bit as after the initial hellos they quickly went over to chat about different topics and she was surprised how much more interest Piper's parents now showed in her life than they did before Piper came out to them. But the conversation flowed easily and Alex was happy to go along with it. After they had dessert the mood became a little more serious and Carol turned to Alex.

"One of the reasons we asked Piper to invite you over was because we behaved horribly after we heard you, uhm, liked girls. We already apologized to Piper for everything but we owe you one too. We know we made it hard for both of you. You always were inseparable and I feel deeply sorry for being so ignorant and unaccepting to try to keep you apart. I am happy to see that no matter how much was thrown in your way you two still managed to stay friends and as I'm aware now even more than that. You have to know that I grew up in an environment where 'straying' from the path that was considered normal wasn't intended and in no way accepted or tolerated. My parents always made very clear that the traditional family was the aim of life and to be pursued. And when you're told that this is the only accepted thing you believe that. I promised myself not to be like my mother, but it turns out I wasn't beyond becoming at least a bit like her. So my first reaction was that something like this was not acceptable. And I was scared that it influenced Piper in a bad way. I am sorry for thinking like that and I learned a lot in those last couple weeks and I can see now that I was wrong to react that way. So I hope you accept my apology for everything I said and did. I promise to be better." she ended her speech and looked at Alex hopefully.

Alex was a little speechless by all that. She could understand where Carol came from and that it influenced her reaction, and she was happy that she finally noticed that she was at fault and from what she sensed sincerely apologized. "Apology accepted." she replied and saw a smile show up on Carols face. The conversation went back to other things and soon everyone had finished their dessert.

"Is it too much to ask if Alex can stay over?" Piper cautiously asked when the evening slowly came to an end.

Carol looked a little like she fought with herself. "No, it's okay. If she wants she can stay."

"Thank you, mom." Piper smiled widely and they went up to Piper's room.

"I don't have anything to sleep. As much as I want to…" Alex started.

"Oh, that doesn't matter. You won't need any clothes for what I had in mind." Piper gave back.

"Pipes. Your parents have only just come to accept that we are together. Do you really think that that is a good idea?" Alex answered even though she hated to turn Piper down.

"That's why I have a key for my door. And we'll be very quiet. Believe me I have dreamt quite a few times about you staying here with me and the things I want to do with you." Piper almost whispered back. As much as Alex wanted to protest the look of Piper starting to undress herself made it impossible. "If you going to stay standing there and just stare I'm going to have to do it all by myself." Piper said and got Alex out her trance. Alex raised her eyebrow into her signature smirk and Piper couldn't hold herself back. Instead of taking more clothes off she pulled Alex on her bed and helped Alex out of her shirt soon attacking her lips roughly. Throughout the next hours Alex had to remind herself, and repeatedly Piper too, too stay quiet so Bill and Carol wouldn't hear what they were doing.

XXXXX

The rest of the year went by quickly. Soon it was the end of the school year and close to their 17th birthday. Alex and Piper both decided to celebrate a big birthday party combined with celebrating the start of their last summer break while they were still in school. The next year would be their last. They'd graduate and then hopefully go to college. They hadn't really discussed that part yet. It would mean that the two of them wouldn't live with their parents anymore which would also mean not living so close to each other anymore if they didn't go to the same college. But neither Alex nor Piper had decided what exactly they wanted to study or where they'd like to go. Also they were both very reluctant to bring it up.

The weekend after Piper's birthday they had their big party with all of their family members and friends. They had a great time and eventually the relationship between the two families Chapman and Vause was free of any tension. That was one of the things Piper enjoyed the most right now, everyone got along just the way they did before Piper's parents invited the Thompsons over for dinner.

Couple weeks ago they had had the idea of going on a vacation together. Neither of the girls wanted to go with their parents and so they figured they could go on their first trip just the two of them. It took both girls several long discussions to convince their parents to let them go alone. But they were well prepared and had researched everything they needed. So after bringing up the idea for the first time they showed them where they wanted to go and what time they intended to go and how they planned to get there. Eventually everyone agreed and they were happy to be able to go. They had found a camping ground where they could rent a little cabin made like a big barrel. It was only about two hours from where they lived and was easy to reach. All those facts made it easier for both sets of parents and took their worry away as much as it could. Alex and Piper were happy that they let them go on that trip alone and they promised to send at least one text a day letting their parents know they're okay.

The great thing was that the campsite offered so many things they could do. They were directly at the beach so they could spend their time swimming and laying in the sun or they could rent a bike and do a tour or the could go to the climbing forest just 15 minutes from the campsite. There were so many options.

The first day after they arrived they decided to do a lazy beach day. They both took their books and spent most of the day reading. Only interrupted by them going to cool off in the water and reapplying sunscreen. Around lunch time the found a vendor not far from the beach where they both got some fish and fries to eat.

"This is great!" Alex exclaimed when they went back to the beach. "I love spending time like this. On a beach with you."

"Me too." Piper agreed. A group of four had spread out a picnic blanket not far from them while they were gone to get something to eat. Three girls and a guy were currently handing sunscreen around until everyone was covered.

Alex was laying back down while Piper sat on their blanket looking around. Alex could see the boy from the group not far away look over. Was he checking out Piper? He better not. Although Piper didn't seem to notice anything Alex kept an eye out as to what he was up to.

"How far have you gotten with your book so far?" Piper asked.

"I don't know. Pretty far, I guess. I think I got a bit over half now." Alex answered.

"How is it?" Piper wanted to know.

"I like it. It's well written and manages to keep the tension so far. I have to stop myself not to read too fast cause then it'll be over too soon." Alex replied.

"That good, huh?" Piper turned around slightly and looked at her. Alex shortly checked if the guy was still watching Piper and sure he did. Somehow this annoyed Alex a lot. Who did he think he was staring at her girlfriend like that?

"Uh, yeah. I think you'd like it." Alex tried to concentrate on the conversation with her girlfriend.

"We could swap our books when we're done. I think you'll like the one I'm reading." Piper offered.

"Sure." Alex replied and sat up next to her. "I'm happy our parents agreed to let us go on this trip together.

"Yeah, me too. It's great to get to spend so much time just the two of us." Piper smiled at her and Alex couldn't help but kiss her. First because she was so cute right now and because it still bothered her that this guy was still staring at Piper. Alex could feel Piper's surprise but she soon recovered and kissed back. Alex noticed how the guy turned away as he saw them kissing.

"What was that for?" Piper asked.

"Just like that. Can't I kiss my girlfriend without reason?" Alex asked trying to sound innocent.

"Sure you can. Any time." Piper smiled at her.

"Also that dude over couldn't stop staring at you." Alex revealed.

"Ah… Wait. You were jealous?" Piper looked at her surprised.

"No. I just wanted him to know he shouldn't even dare thinking about coming over or so…" Alex played it down.

"You were totally jealous!" Piper laughed unbelievingly. "That's cute."

"Urgh, stop! " Alex gave up. There was no point and any argument she could bring would probably only make it worse.

"You just can't admit it." Piper said.

"Well I actually don't blame him for looking. You look gorgeous." Alex smiled at Piper who blushed a little at the remark.

"So do you. Are you sure he was staring at me and not you?" she retorted.

Alex laughed. "Yeah, I'd have noticed that."

The next day they had decided to take a bike tour to a town about ten miles from where they stayed and visited one of the museums there. Piper had discovered it in one of the brochures they found at the reception. It was a games and play museum showing all kinds of games, from board to card and more recent electronic games. The older ones were just to show but the games created in the last twenty years were also laid out to be played. They had a few tables across the museum where you could sit and play or join a group if the games were made for more than two people. They had a lot of fun and played a few games they hadn't heard of before. On the way back they stopped at a small pizza place for something to eat. When they were back they both fell into bed exhausted from their twenty mile bike ride.

"I had so much fun today. The bike tour was exhausting but great. And I loved how many different games we got to try at the museum." Alex said halfway interrupted by a yawn. Piper chuckled seeing her girlfriend so sleepy already.

"Me too. And believe it or not, it's only been our second day." Piper smiled and yawned too.

"Be my little spoon?" Alex lifted her left arm so Piper could come closer.

"Sure. Sleep well. I love you." Piper said feeling all warm and cozy cuddled into Alex like that.

"Love you too." Alex mumbled already half asleep. With a smile on her face Piper soon fell asleep too.

The rest of the week went by like that. They found various activities that kept them busy and they both had a lot of fun. At the end of the week they spend another day at the beach without doing anything and both enjoyed it a lot. They were both sad about having to go back home the next day but also looking forward to seeing their families again.

XXXXX

The summer break went by quickly and soon there were only a few days left before they had to go back to school for their last year of high school.

"I can't believe it's only gonna be this year and then we'll be done with school!" Alex said. They were sitting on her bed and chatting about this and that before the subject turned towards their last year.

"That's right. But I'm so ready to be done with high school." Piper added.

"Me too. Do you have an idea what you want to do after? I mean at some point we'll have to apply at colleges?!" Alex asked a little anxiously.

"I don't know, I thought something with literature would be nice. I mean I always loved to read and I really enjoy my literature classes. Maybe I'll study something in that direction. It would be cool to be an editor or so and work at a publishing house." Piper explained. "What about you?"

"I haven't thought about it too much really. But maybe I'll go towards business or managing. I've always been good at organizing things and enjoyed that. But I think I'd be good at teaching too. So maybe that?!" Alex shrugged.

"I'd think you'd make a great teacher. You've got the right charisma and confidence to be an amazing teacher. You'd be the supercool teacher who you can make fun with but who is also capable of setting rules and enforcing them. I'd totally love to have someone like you as my teacher." Piper told her sincerely. It made Alex smile.

"You're completely biased. And relationships between teacher and student is an absolute no go. So choose." Alex laughed.

"Well maybe a little biased." Piper admitted with a giggle. "And I said someone like you - not you. You'd have to be a lot older than only two weeks for being my teacher."

"Oh yeah?!" Alex smirked. "You want me to teach you a thing or two?" she added seductively.

"Mhm. And what would that be?" Piper replied.

"Patience! Let me show you." Alex said and slowly moved her hand from Pipers hip upwards underneath her shirt.

"Mhm." Piper moaned. "I think I like this lesson."

XXXXX

The next morning Alex woke up before Piper. She loved watching her sleep. Piper always looked so calm and peaceful like nothing could bother her and she was happy. That's also how she felt when she woke up next to Piper, happy and peaceful.

"Good morning." she whispered to Piper as she noticed her stirring.

"Morning." Piper mumbled not opening her eyes just yet.

Alex chuckled. "I'll let you slumber a little longer."

A while later Piper opened her eyes and asked Alex if she slept well.

"Yeah. I always do when you're here." Alex replied softly. "How about you?"

"Aww. You're a giant marshmallow, you know that, right?" Piper giggled. "I slept very well. I had a weird dream after last nights talk. I was an author at a big newspaper and you were a teacher and came to me asking how I could make so many mistakes and then I looked at the printed article and it was so full of spelling and grammatical errors that it was barely readable. It was a little scary to be honest."

"Oh my." Alex laughed. "Well, maybe I should study business then, if the teaching thing gives you nightmares."

"Nah, I still think you'd be a great teacher. Also you could talk about it with your dad. I mean he's teaching and he knows you and can probably say if you'd make a good teacher." Piper replied. "Hey, maybe we can go and check out where we could apply and what college offers what together today?"

"Sure." Alex said. "Do you think we will find one that offers something for both of us? I mean probably there is one. But what are the chances of us both getting into the same college?" she started ranting. It was one of the rare occasions where Piper saw her girlfriend all insecure and ranting like this.

"Shh. Alex slow down." Piper tried to calm her. "Let's face that when we're there, okay? For now it's only about finding information and doing some research. And we'll apply at every college that we think we'd like to go to. And then we'll see. And if we end up at different colleges that will be okay too. I know that we can make it through."

"How will we make it work if - I don't know - I am in New York and you in California or so? We'd barely ever see each other." Alex went on.

"Well maybe we'll find one that takes both of us or at least two that aren't so far away." Piper said. "Maybe we are lucky enough to get into the same college?! Who knows? "

"Yeah who knows? But what are the chances?" Alex wished she had the same optimism like her girlfriend.

"Let's not worry about things we don't even know if they're going to be a problem." Piper reasoned. "And even if we end up so far away from each other I still believe we'll make it through. It'll be hard but I know I won't find anyone better for me than you. So I'll fight for us."

"Okay. I just… I don't want to be so far away from you for so long." Alex replied quietly. Hearing Piper say that she believed in them being able to make it through something like this made her feel a lot calmer.

"Me neither. I always love to have you as close as I can." Piper answered and pulled Alex into a tight hug as to show her how close.

"Well we'd have be a bit farther from each other when we want to learn something in all the classes we'll have to take." Alex chuckled but felt a little better already.


	28. Chapter 28: College admissions

_**Hey, everyone. The next chapter is ready. I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Please ignore if there are any mistakes in the college application and timing process. I actually don't really know how and when the applications are made and if any of what I wrote is realistic at all. I wrote it so it works with the story, so please ignore if it should be completely different from what it would be like in real life. After all this is a fictional story. Also, I can't believe this story has gotten so long already. I'm very close to 250 pages in my word document. Crazy!_

_So here goes Chapter 28. Enjoy._

Chapter 28: College admissions

As they had agreed they spend a part of the next day looking for colleges that offered courses they were interested in and soon had a long list of colleges and majors they could choose.

"Hey. Do you want a coffee? I could really use a break." Alex asked.

"Coffee sounds amazing. Yes, please." Piper smiled and put down her pen.

"Are you girls successful?" Diane asked when they came into the kitchen.

"I think so. I've got a long list of where I could go…" Piper started.

"Me too." Alex added.

"And do you want to apply at all of them?" Diane asked further.

"I don't think so. I guess I'll make a ranking of where I'd like to go most and then apply at the top… I don't know what would be a good number?! 5? 10?" Piper shrugged her shoulders.

"Well maybe we could compare our lists first? See where they offer something for both of us?" Alex suggested.

"Sure." Piper replied.

"What? Is that not on your priority list? I really would like to you know see each other regularly which isn't going to happen if we end up at other ends of the country?!" Alex asked a little taken aback by Pipers short reply.

"Woah. What makes you think that I'd want that? Alex, I want us to be close and it would be tremendously great if we got to go to the same college. I mean we could even live together. That would be amazing. I just don't want to get my hopes up too high that it'll work out like that, you know?" Piper explained feeling a little offended by Alex thinking she didn't want them to be near each other.

"Girls. Don't make a problem where there is none yet. I'm positive you'll find something that'll you'll both be okay with." Diane tried to calm the situation a little.

"Yeah, I just… I'm scared that … we'll end up somewhere completely different and I don't know if I can do that… Being so far away from you for so long." Alex quietly admitted.

"Don't worry, Al. We'll find colleges that are close or maybe we're so lucky to study at the same college. And if not we'll find a solution too." Piper told her and hugged her tightly.

Diane quietly watched their conversation and interaction and admired how open and mature they were. She remembered how she was at that age and how she would have reacted in a situation like that and it was far from this conversation. They all had a cup of coffee together and ate some cookies and the conversation turned to other topics.

XXXXX

The next weeks went by and they came to a decision. They had made their list and compared where they wanted to apply. Both planned to send applications to about ten colleges. Five of them were on both lists and five on each list that weren't on the others list. When they had send all their applications they were partly relieved, that they were through with applying but also anxious for when they'd have their replies and if they were positive or not. Now they'd just have to wait.

Two weeks after they had send all their applications they sat together with a couple of their friends. As so often recently the topic they were talking about was their plan for the future and where they'd like to study. Nicky was getting a little annoyed as she still had a year left before any of that was even relevant for her but she was busy with Lorna and their current fight. They had hit a rather rough patch recently and seemed to have trouble and fights on a regular basis.

"So what would your top choice be out of all the colleges you applied at?" Polly asked Piper.

"Well first on my list is Smith actually. If I'd get a positive answer I'd be thrilled." Piper answered honestly.

"What about you Alex?" Polly turned her attention to Alex.

"Well… My number one is Trinity in Washington, but second is Smith and I'd rather go there if we both got in." Alex replied.

"Did you apply at Trinity?" Polly turned to Piper.

"No. I didn't." Piper told her.

"What if you don't get accepted at the same college?" Polly wanted to know.

"We'll figure something out." Piper looked at Alex and gave her an encouraging look.

"I'm sure we will." Alex shortly gave back.

The following week Piper, Alex and Nicky sat in the cafeteria of their school and had lunch. Both Alex and Piper felt that Nicky was in a foul mood. Her usual very talkative and bubbly self was gone and she just sat there completely silent.

"Do you want to tell us what's going on?" Alex asked her.

"Me? Nothing is going on." Nicky shortly said and returned her attention to poking around in her lunch.

"Sure. And I recently developed a crush on Mr. Dreamy over there." Alex said sarcastically and pointed towards Rick Paulson who was crowded by a group of girls as usual. Piper couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry to hear that. Piper, if you need a shoulder I'll be right here, okay?" Nicky returned just as sarcastic.

"Thanks, but not necessary I think." she chuckled.

"So? You want to talk about it?" Alex tried again.

"Urgh, it's so frustrating. I mean, you know, Lorna and I had a bit of trouble recently. And yesterday she came over and she broke up with me." Nicky eventually explained.

"Oh shit. That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that." Alex said sincerely feeling sad for her friend.

"You know, Nicky if you need a shoulder…" Piper replied and Nicky couldn't help but smirk.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys, time to go." Nicky replied as the school bell rang.

"See ya." both Piper and Alex replied.

"Wait Pipes." Alex held her back before they went to their respective classrooms.

"Al, we're gonna be late." Piper complained.

"Just a sec. Meet me at the picnic table after this lesson, okay?" Alex quickly said.

"Okay. See you then." Piper agreed and they both hurried to their classrooms.

When Piper walked to the table as previously agreed she already saw Alex sitting there.

"What is all this about?" she asked curiously.

"I got an idea." Alex replied and told her what she had in mind. Just as the bell rang for the last lesson of the day Piper agreed and they went back. Later that day they both walked to Nicky's house with filled bags to execute Alex's idea. They rang the bell and looked into a surprised face when Nicky answered the door.

"What are you guys doing here?" she wanted to know.

"We brought sweets and ice cream and some movies. Girls night!" Alex said as cheerful as she could without feeling too stupid.

"Woah. Yes." Nicky visibly cheered up.

"We thought you need a little distraction and someone to cheer you up." Piper told her.

"You're incredible. Thanks." Nicky was touched.

"Anytime." they said in unison and giggled.

"How do you feel?" Alex cautiously asked.

"Pretty crappy. I don't really understand why she did this… She said she met this guy… Christopher or something like this... and she wanted to try 'a real relationship'. Wasn't that what we had? A real relationship?" Nicky turned to Alex confused.

"Woah. Of course you were. I'm sorry that she didn't see it that way. But maybe she didn't mean it like that?!" Alex tried.

"Urgh. Who knows?!" Nicky said sounding like she was resigning to find a sense behind what Lorna had said. "Now what did you bring?"

They went inside and started one of the movies in Nicky's room. Piper and Alex had thought of many things, they had brought the all-time-heartbreak-curer icecream and Nicky's favorite sweets and sodas. They watched another movie after that first one. Then it was eventually time for Alex and Piper to go home.

"Thank you again. I needed that. An evening with the girls. It made me feel so much better already." Nicky said sincerely.

"Don't mention it. You'd do the same thing for us. Even though I hope you won't ever have to." Alex played it down.

"I hope so too. Like where am I supposed to go first? Don't make me choose." Nicky chuckled.

"We'll try our best." Piper laughed. "Bye then. Text me or Alex if you need anything."

"I will. Bye." Nicky waved them goodbye and closed the door.

"Oh man. Break ups suck." Piper said lost in thought.

"Yeah. But hey, nothing we'll have to face soon." Alex said.

"Soon? I hope never. But I feel kinda sad for Nicky. I thought she and Lorna were pretty good together." Piper replied.

"Never? I like that thought. Although I find it kinda scary to think, you know, think of the future too much. That means so many decisions... " Alex started.

"Decisions we'll have to make when we're at the point where they are necessary. We don't have to decide most things yet. Like if we want kids and if so how. That has time for another few years until we are ready. Don't get too far ahead with your thinking yet." Piper reasoned.

"I know. But don't you think that everything is going to change? With college and all those things that are so unpredictable." Alex said.

"I do think that many things are going to change. That's the point of growing up." Piper chuckled. "But does that have to be a bad thing? Wouldn't it be boring if everything stayed the same? And more so, wouldn't it be boring if everything was predictable? Not knowing is the thrill that makes all that's going to happen so exciting, don't you think?"

"Well, I know there are a few things I don't want to change. But no, I don't think that change in general is a bad thing. Sometimes it just scares me a little." Alex admitted.

"It doesn't mean that everything is going to be different, I'm afraid though it'll be a lot that changes. But what won't change is that I will be there with you as much as I can, I will always love you like no one else and I will give everything to be with you." Piper said and as she stopped walking she pulled Alex into her giving her a sincere and reassuring look. Alex smiled widely. Not that she needed the reassurance, but it felt good. She knew Piper would be there for her, just as she'd be there for her and they'd be together as much as they could.

"Not that I ever doubted it, but it's good to hear that. I love you, Pipes." Alex said.

"I love you too." Piper returned and Alex pulled her in for a very emotional kiss.

XXXXX

Soon it was January and they got the first replies from the colleges they had applied at. They both had promised each other to open every letter together which sometimes was a hard thing as they didn't have time to see each other every afternoon after school due to the finals that were only a couple of months away. Their teachers obviously thought they'd need some extra challenge and preparation and gave them a lot of homework to do and many essays to write. Especially when Piper received a letter from Smith she was tempted to open it right there and then. But she also didn't want to let Alex down and disappoint her, so she left it on the pile with the rest of the letters.

On saturday they finally had the time to meet and open their letters together.

"Gosh, I'm so excited." Piper squealed. Alex laughed as she saw her girlfriend so thrilled and excited.

"So…. where do we start?" Alex asked looking at the six letters, three for each of them.

"Where did you get letters back from?" Piper asked. "I got one from Smith, yay, I hope it's positive, then one from San Francisco and the last one is the New York one."

"Well let's see… Boston, Chicago and Orlando." Alex looked at the envelopes. "Why did you get one from Smith and I didn't? We both applied at the same time?" she asked surprised.

"Who knows, maybe yours will come soon and there is just a delay in the delivery." Piper tried to reason. "Can I start first? It was so hard to wait until today…"

Alex laughed. "Yes. Sure you can." Piper ripped the envelope open and started reading. Alex was watching her facial expression tensely. It went from concentrated reading to a big smile.

"I got in!" Piper shouted excitedly.

"Congratulations, babe. I knew you would." Alex was happy for her. She knew that it had been Pipers dream to get into Smith from when the first started talking about it.

"Thank you. Oh I'm so happy." Piper still smiled widely.

They opened the other envelopes and read the results. Piper had another positive reply by the City College San Francisco but didn't get into the City College New York. Alex got a positive answer from the Colleges in Boston and Chicago.

"That is good news isn't it?" Piper was still very excited.

"Yeah, let's wait for the rest and then we'll see how far we'll be apart." Alex said.

"Hey, even if you don't get a positive answer from Smith or you wanted to go somewhere else then that'd be okay too. We will make it work. Maybe you could choose the one in Boston that's not too far… I think." Piper quickly got her phone out and looked something up. "Yeah, it's like a two hour drive. That's not too bad, is it?"

"No. But it'd be much nicer…" "if we could live together and go to the same college, I know." Piper ended her sentence. "But there is no final decision yet. You don't have a reply from Smith yet and we don't know about the rest."

"It kinda looks like your decision is made." Alex returned.

"I'd really like to go to Smith yes. But I also would like to be with you more then just every weekend or every other weekend or so. I'm sure we'll find a solution either way okay? So could you not mope about it and just be happy that we have some positive replies already?" Piper cupped the sides of Alex's face and made her look her in the eyes.

"Yes, I can do that." Alex said cheering up a little.

The time flew by and during the next weeks a few more replies from the colleges arrived for Piper and Alex. Piper received two more admissions from UCLA and the college in Seattle while Alex got positive replies from the colleges in Washington and Atlanta. Soon the had a reply from all colleges they had applied at, except Alex still waited for a letter or literally any reaction from Smith.

"Looks like our best options are Smith and Boston." Alex said after they had an overview over all admissions and rejections. "Like you said, it's only about two hours and literally the closest option we have."

"But didn't you say you prefered Washington over Boston?" Piper asked her.

"I know. I think they got a great program but Boston's isn't so ba either. And if it means that we're closer then I'll go there." Alex said.

"I appreciate that, Alex. And believe me, I want to have you near me as much as I can. But I don't want you to give up on getting the education you want." Piper argued.

"Washington is like 6 hours away. How would we do this?!" Alex questioned.

"We'll find a way. I just don't want you to regret not going to the college you wanted to. So please think about it and if you think Washington is the better choice then go there. We'll figure out how we can still see each other. We can call each other and video chat and it won't be easy but please think it through before you choose. If I remember correctly Washington was on the 1st place in your ranking and Boston further down. Six or seven?" Piper looked at her seriously. She meant every word. Yes she hated the thought of Alex being so far away from her but she also didn't want her to turn down the opportunity to get the best education she could.

"Seven." Alex said very silently. "I know I should consider Washington - I mean yes, it's been my favourite - but I'm not sure if I can do that… Not seeing each other for long and a six hour drive is hardly what we can do every weekend. And I don't think that calling or even video calls are going to be enough…" Alex said. To be honest she was scared of them living apart for so long. They'd both make completely different experiences, meet different people, new people, maybe someone they'd be interested in romantically…

"Al, I know it's going to be challenging. But I believe in us. Don't you?" Piper got a little insecure.

"I do, Pipes. I'm doing all this because I want us to be together. But if you're at Smith and I'm in Washington… I'm scared that we'll move in different directions and note that it's not working anymore or we meet someone else… " Alex said.

"I see. But the same thing could happen if we're at the same college or just two hours away. And if that happens it's going to be painful. But we decide what we do and how we handle things." Piper replied. "I understand that studying at the same college will make it easier, because we can share things and experience all that together, which would be amazing. If there was that chance we could do that together I'd take it, even if it meant not going to Smith. But it seems we don't have that option."

"So you'd rather have me six hours away than two?!" Alex felt herself getting mad.

"That's not what I said and definitely not what I want. I just wanted you to think it through before you decide where you'll go." Piper argued back.

"I will. I don't know… I don't know if I can do this right now. I need to be alone." Alex said and got up and left before Piper could say something. It didn't feel right to leave like that but it was a bit too much. She didn't want to fight with Piper but the whole discussion upset her so she just needed to get out.

"What? You can't do what right now?" she heard Piper shouting towards her and the panicking tone in her voice made her heart break but she couldn't go back. She just went home and hid under the blanket and wept freely.

Piper got home and did about the same thing as Alex. She had no idea what Alex had meant by saying she couldn't do that right now… Do what? The discussion with her? Seeing her right now? Their relationship? Piper begged that this wasn't the first step of Alex breaking up with her. Because she didn't know if she could handle that. Piper tried to remember everything they had said and find if she had said something that implied she didn't see them working out or anything else that would make Alex doubt that she wanted them to be together. She didn't understand why Alex got so upset about the discussion and her asking to consider the college in Washington even if it was further away. It didn't mean that Piper wanted them far apart. She only wanted what was best for her girlfriend and her future and if Washington was the better option for her education she shouldn't throw away the opportunity. She knew that they both would have a hard time by being away from each other for most of the time but she sincerely believed they could make it work. But clearly Alex didn't think so or her doubts if they could were too big.

The next morning she barely got out of bed and gave calling in sick a very serious consideration. But eventually she decided against it and forced herself out of bed. She had no idea what was waiting for her that day and if Alex was going to talk to her. Thinking about the current situation between the two made her sad. She had no idea what that was right now… Was it just a disagreement they could settle or was this, to put it more dramatically, the beginning of the end? She really hoped they could settle this. They had never had a serious fight like this before. It made Piper really insecure on how to behave and what to do now… She needed to make a decision before she went to school and possibly ran into Alex on what to do. So for now she thought it might be the best, if also hard to do, to give Alex some time to think about everything and maybe then she could share with her what made her leave the day before.

XXXXX

"Oh heck, no." Nicky exclaimed as she entered the cafeteria during lunch break. As everyday she had been scanning the crowd for Piper and Alex and found them sitting on the opposite ends of the room. Obviously something was going on right now and as much as she wanted to know she didn't want to choose who to sit with because either way she'd hurt one of them by sitting with the other one. So she scanned the room again and joined Polly and her boyfriend who were sitting in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Polly. Can anyone tell me what happened to our two lovebirds?" she asked them and looked into a guessing expression on the face of her friend.

"No idea. We were still in the cue to get food when Piper was already sitting on that table there and Alex walked to the table over there. Piper looked like she was about to cry. So apparently nothing good." Polly quietly told her.

"Do you think they broke up?" Nicky asked cautiously. She really didn't want that to have happened.

"I don't know… Can you imagine? Why? I haven't heard that they ever had any trouble. I mean I was already a little jealous because I never noticed them having a fight or anything… And Piper never said anything about a disagreement or anything other than love, peace and harmony." Polly answered. "Gosh I hope they didn't."

"Neither do I." Nicky agreed.


End file.
